The Revolution of Light
by Richan MMI
Summary: This takes place during Harry's 7th and last year at Hogwarts. New allies join the fight against Voldemort. Harry's past is finally revealed as he learns new powers.
1. Summer's End

The Revolution of Light

By Richan

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does. What a lucky woman.

Warnings: Dark, strange and unexpected happenings with a little bit of light at the end, and my oddball sense of what passes for humor. ^^

Rating: PG-13, but G for the moment

Spoilers: All four books

AN: This takes place during Harry's 7th and last year at Hogwarts. Expect to see the ever original new DADA teacher, as well as a couple of others in the fight againt Vol - Sorry. You-Know-Who. ^^

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Chapter 1

Summer's End

******

  "Professor Snape." Dumbledore's voice entered the dungeon before his body.

  "I suppose you've come to tell me - yet again - that you have given the teaching position for Defense Against the Dark Arts to someone else," Snape uttered in a dark voice.

  Dumbledore sat down and drew one hand through his beard before speaking. "Yes, I have. She...."

  "She!" Snape stood up, his chair pushed back by the swift action.

  "Yes. She is the best for the job this year."

  "The year?" Snape was quiet. Never before had Dumbledore said anything like this in his yearly speech on why he didn't get the job he coveted. It was usually well into the school year that he found out the conditions for his newest rival's employment.

  "Unfortunately yes. She would only say that she would teach this year."

  Dumbledore turned the talk to more mundane matters before leaving the Potions Master deep in thought.

******

  Harry stepped off the train and took a deep breath. The month respite he had spent at the house Remus had found for himself, Sirius and Harry had flown by so fast. Even through that, he hadn't been able to wait to get back to school. The first month of the summer had been spent with the Dursleys, who, even though they treated him terribly, were safer than staying with Ron and his family. Harry hadn't wanted to run the risk of the Weasleys getting hurt, and even though Ron had had some problems with it, the red head had realized that he was adamant about going back to his relatives, much as he disliked them.

  "Harry!"

  He looked up to find Hagrid waving at him amid the first years that swarmed around him. Harry waved back before turning to enter one of the carriages with Ron and Hermione.

  "I wonder who the new teacher will be?" Hermione asked as the carriage slowly climbed towards Hogwarts. "I do hope he will be able to teach us useful things."

  "Rather than last year?" Ron asked. "It was like Lockhart all over again."

  Harry nodded, but didn't answer. He had asked Remus whom he thought had taken the position, but the older man hadn't given a straight answer. They would find out soon enough at the Sorting Ceremony. For once nothing had happened to the DADA teacher, since he had refused to fight for either side. Professor Apple had just been the wrong man for the job. He would have been better teaching Herbology like Professor Sprout. Or not even teaching at all. At least for their fifth year they'd had a somewhat competent teacher, before it was found that he was a spy for Voldemort. Harry shuddered even as the memory crossed his mind. He had come to know that his scar no longer afforded him protection against Voldemort, but his dreams had become better indications of when the enemy was on the move. Professor Crow had been too well versed in the Dark Arts, although none of them had known that first day of class.

  The three entered the Great Hall, taking places at the long Gryffindor table. Each kept on looking at the head table to see the new teacher.

  "Who do you think they got?" Dean Thomas asked.

  Seamus Finnigan shrugged his shoulders. "Whoever he is has to be better than Professor Apple. That man couldn't find his way out of a bag, let alone an encounter with something dark."

  Ron nodded. "I'm hoping so, too."

  The Great Hall soon became filled with noise as they waited for the first years to come in. The new teacher had not arrived when they started to file in. Dumbledore nodded at McGonagall to start, seemingly ignoring the inquisitive looks the students were giving the head table.

  The dusty, torn hat was silent for a moment before opening the slit near the brim and sang its song. Harry didn't really pay much attention to it as he watched the table in front for any sing of the new DADA teacher.

  Professor McGonagall pulled out the scroll of names and called the first one off as soon as the Sorting Hat stopped singing.

  "Adams, Mignon!"

  McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on the blond girl that stepped forward.

  "RAVENCLAW!"

  Harry leaned over to Ron. "I wonder why he hasn't shown up yet?"

  Ron shook his head, as much in the dark as Harry was.

  "Barnes, Robert!

  "HUFFLEPUFF!"

  The sorting finished with no sign of the DADA teacher. Dumbledore stood for his yearly welcome speech. "Students, teachers," he nodded at each group. "Welcome back to Hogwarts! As you know, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Please welcome Professor Steele."

  The door on the side of the room opened, revealing a young woman, who looked between twenty and thirty years of age. The robe she wore was embroidered with strange markings, and her long, golden blond hair almost reached the floor in a single braid. She was tall for a woman, standing as tall as Dumbledore and Snape, and extremely thin.

  Harry pulled away from the sight to look at Snape's reaction. The Potions Master's face was very dark as the woman walked to the head table to take her seat next to him. He saw her nod at him before Snape turned away.

  "A woman?" Ron breathed.

  "What is wrong with a woman?" Hermione demanded to know.

  Harry ignored them to take another look at the new teacher. This time he noticed she wore a strange headband around her forehead before it disappeared into her hair at the back of her head.

  "Harry?"

  Ron's question pulled him from his study. He turned to find several pair of Gryffindor eyes watching him.

  "I just thought I've seen her before." Harry shrugged his shoulders and turned to the feast that sat before him.

******

  The seventh year Gryffindors waited impatiently in the classroom for the DADA teacher. Seamus and Dean were trying to figure out what would come first in their lessons. Their discussion was cut off when the door closed with a snap.

  "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts," a husky, feminine voice stated. It was soft, yet they could hear each syllable. "I am Professor Ella Steele, and I am here to teach what you missed last year, and this year's subjects as well."

  The students withheld a groan at this. Was this woman going to be as demanding as Snape?

  "I will start by refreshing your memory," Professor Steele said.

  Harry looked into her eyes as she said this and held his breath. The woman's eyes changed color as she looked at each of them.

  "Miss Granger, since you seem so eager, please tell me what a grindylow is and how it can be stopped."

  Hermione blushed and answered.

  "Very good. Mr. Longbottom."

  Every one was startled. Why go to Neville?

  "What is a boggart?"

  Harry let out the breath he was holding as Neville haltingly said the correct answer. The rest of the class continued in the same way. Professor Steele asked each person a different question, patiently waiting for the answer and giving slight praise after each correct answer. Finally, class was over. As they gathered their books, Professor Steele said, "Please read the first chapter of your book. We will discuss that next class."

  Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. She seemed pleased with their new teacher as Ron groaned at how much reading they were to do before tomorrow.

  "It's only twenty pages, Ron," Hermione said glumly. "I've already read it twice, but I think I should read it again." She started up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and didn't see the disgusted look on his face.

  "Showoff!"

  Harry ignored him and put his books away before they left for lunch.

******

  "Mr. Malfoy!"

  Draco lifted his head.

  "This is a classroom, not a bedroom. Kindly peel your face off the desk and pay attention."

  He raised one blond eyebrow at this. "Oh?"

  "Mr. Malfoy, answer this question. What is a dementor?"

  "Potter's best friend," he laughed. The rest of the class broke out into laughter.

  "Mr. Malfoy." This time there was steel in the Professor's voice. Draco snapped his mouth shut. "Ten points from Slytherin, and you will sit at your new desk."

  His mouth fell open at this. "My father..."

  "Is not your teacher, Mr. Malfoy. I am." Professor Steele gave him a sharp look and pointed to the desk that sat against the wall at the very front of the room. "I will tolerate none of this. This is not some stage for you to perform on."

  Silence rested over the class until Draco took his new seat.

  "Now, Mr. Malfoy. What is a dementor?"

******

  Ron sauntered into the common room, a smug look on his face. Hermione raised an eyebrow at this before looking back at her book.

  "Malfoy's already got detention this Friday," Ron stated in a too-casual voice.

  Harry stared at him. "From who?"

  "Professor Steele. I think I like her more already."

  "And how did you find this out?" Hermione asked as she closed her book.

  "I happened to overhear Filch grumbling about it. It seems as if he has to get some things ready for it."

  "I'm not going to ask further," Hermione said as she shook her head.

  Harry gave a small smile and went back to the book. His eyes didn't follow the lines, though. The new Professor was brave enough to risk the wrath of Lucius Malfoy, and he didn't envy her at all. He thought back to the color of Professor Steele's eyes when they had rested on him. Was it natural to have such gold eyes?

******

  Snape was in a horrible mood that Friday when it came to Potions. The double class they shared with the Slytherins was strangely quiet. There was no taunting coming from a close-mouthed Draco and his friends; and the rest of his house wasn't up to providing the usual noise. The Professor tried to impale each of the Gryffindors with his eyes alone to make up for their chatter. The more they talked, the more resentful he became of the silence.

  The tall, unwashed teacher strode towards Harry with an ominous look on his face.

  "Uh oh," Ron muttered under his breath.

  "Potter!"

  "Professor Snape." The entire class turned at the sound of Professor Steele's voice. "Professor Dumbledore would like to speak to you."

  "I am in the middle of a class. I will speak to him when it's over."

  Harry looked at the DADA teacher and found her eyes were black when they rested on Snape. "Very well. I will let him know what you said."

  Steele's tone revealed nothing. The words were spoken as if she were reading a textbook, giving Snape nothing to go on. For the first time in seven years, both Gryffindor and Slytherin were treated to the sight of Snape speechless. His mouth flapped a couple of times as Steele turned in the doorway and left the line of sight. The rest of the class time was spent in complete silence, as Snape finally turned with dark intentions at the first sound uttered.

  "That was strange," Ron said as they made their way to lunch.

  Harry nodded. "Snape's never been that quiet, and Neville was having problems with his potion."

  "Hermione took care of that, didn't you?" Ron asked.

  She shook her head. "It wasn't just me. Seamus and Dean helped."

  "I don't think that Snape would have done anything good to Neville if he had noticed, though," Ron continued. He turned to walk backwards in front of Harry and Hermione. "So what do you think is up?"

  Harry shook his head in a confused way. "It's too early to tell."

  "We could look into this toni.... Oomph!" Ron fell over backwards, landing in an awkward pile with four legs waving about. Harry looked again and saw that a pair of them was much shorter than his tall friend's. A plaintive wail erupted from the squirming mass on the floor. Everybody in the hall looked and Harry felt a small, hot flush creep over his face before they all looked away.

  Ron scrambled to get off the floor quickly as the person started wiggling underneath him even more. He turned to see who it was and his eyes widened. Harry looked down as well and found... a kid? Taking another look he saw that he couldn't be more than three.

  "Ow! That hurt!" A childish voice echoed in the thinning hall, inviting a couple more stares. This time they lingered when they caught sight of the child.

  "Babysitting, Potter?"

  Harry cringed when he heard Malfoy's voice ring down the corridor. He turned and saw the smirk on the blond boy's face as he walked towards them, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

  The blond smirked at the child. "It looks as if one of the house elves escaped again."

  Hermione turned red and opened her mouth.

  "Ah, Marty." Dumbledore's voice interrupted the conversation. "Here you are." He gave a kindly smile to the child, who grabbed a hold of the man's hand. Harry gave a quick look to Malfoy and found his mouth in a tight line, unable to do anything about the situation now that Dumbledore was there. Dumbledore gave a small nod to each of them before turning to walk in the direction he had come from. By the time he had disappeared, Malfoy and his two goons had as well.

  "That was certainly different," Hermione said in a hushed voice.

  Ron nodded. Harry gave them each a look before they set off to the Gryffindor common room.

  Later that night, Harry lay in his bed, looking up at the draperies. Something was bothering him, but he wasn't sure what it exactly was. Why had Dumbledore been looking after that kid in the first place and why was he here at Hogwarts? His green eyes clouded in confusion before they cleared at a thought as it crossed his mind. He should get out the Invisibility cloak his father had left him.

  'Maybe in a minute,' he thought as he lay under the warm covers. 'I'll just get up in a few minutes.'

  Bright light hit his eyes as Ron pulled back the curtains around his bed. "Get tired from last night?" he asked as he finished pulling the fabric away.

  Harry sat upright. He had meant to go exploring, but he hadn't moved before sleep had overtaken him. Maybe tonight he would be able to do some searching. Now wasn't the time to think about it when he had to get to class. He shook his head. "I didn't get out," he said as he scrambled out of bed.

  "What?" Ron's face wore an incredulous look on it, the freckles standing out even among his tan from the summer. "I thought you were going to go looking," he said in a quiet voice.

  He shook his head. "It was like some part of me didn't even want to get out of bed."

  Ron's face drooped. "Will you go looking tonight?"

  Harry thought about it for a moment. Every time he thought about moving last night, some other idea had crossed his mind until he had simply forgotten about exploring. Nodding, he and Ron left the dorm for the Great Hall and breakfast. It was pointless to think about it for the time being.


	2. Festive Hallows

******

Chapter 2

Festive Hallows

Disclaimer: J K Rowling, Scholastic, and lots of other people own this wonderful creation. I'm just playing around a bit and I promise to return them in their original condition. (Not Seamus, though. I'm keeping him.^_^) If you don't recognize the name, it was my idea.

Warnings: Angst

AN: From what I gathered, both in the books and what others are saying, Voldemort attacked the Potters on Halloween, and every holiday at Hogwarts that Harry's been there is the start of the next adventure. So I thought it deserved the attention it's always had.

******

  Halloween approached fast as Harry forgot all about looking for the mystery of Marty. Nothing had been seen of the child, as even Draco seemed to forget he had ever seen the boy. Quidditch had started practice, and he had had to look for a new Chaser. Rob Williams had been a good team member, but he had left Hogwarts at the end of last year at the end of his seventh year. Only he and Ron, as keeper, were the oldest on the team. All the other players were fifth and sixth years. It wasn't until the night before the holiday that he remembered his search for information on the little boy.

  Harry was walking back after a long practice, lagging behind the rest of the team. He didn't notice that he was soon left behind until the total absence of noise broke his thoughts. His glasses glinted in the faint moonlight that shone through the heavily clouded night sky as he searched the field for his friends. Realizing that he had been too slow for them, he hurried his walk and had almost reached the castle when he heard a sound off to his left.

  A frown crossed his face when he heard a soft sort of noise, the sound very faint in the still of the night. The moon was not yet full, so it couldn't be a werewolf, and he was sure that Remus was back in the house he was keeping for Sirius and himself. The sound came again and he set off towards it, even though he knew that his curiosity had gotten him into more trouble than it was worth.

  Clouds shrouded the moon once more, but he knew the ground as it sloped back towards the Quidditch pitch. His feet were silent on the dewy grass while the hem of his robes grew wet. As he reached the far side of the pitch he stopped, listening for the singing. His ears heard nothing except for the soft breeze that rustled the last of the leaves in the trees in the Forest. Harry stood there for another minute before shaking his head. He must be more tired than he thought if he heard singing at this time of night. At least it wasn't anything in Parseltongue. He didn't need another incident like his second year.

  Finally reaching the dorm, he quickly changed to meet Ron and Hermione in the library for some studying. Hermione was pushing the studying, as they had the NEWTS this year to think about, and she was in a flutter about them. Because of this, either Ron or Harry had to be next to her while she studied to make sure that she didn't burn out. She was also trying to make up for not becoming a Prefect two years ago, although she, indeed all three of them, had been nominated for the office.

  Harry knew why Ron had refused - his brother, Percy. Even though his oldest brother, Bill, had been a Prefect, Ron hadn't wanted to turn into Percy. Harry was inclined to agree when Ron went into a snit because of something Percy had done, at least in regards to what was happening at the Ministry of Magic. He knew a lot more of the story than Ron did, though, with what had happened in the last year, and much of what had happened to Percy in the two years since the Triwizard tournament that had been held their fourth year at Hogwarts. Percy had been forced to grow up faster than he should have, making Harry worry about him. Even though he could remember the stiff behavior of Percy, he had always felt it was a mask and that deep inside he had to be like that in order to get noticed.

  Harry had seen that with Ron as well. The youngest of six brothers, Harry believed that Ron had to compete with the rest of them, to feel like he could accomplish something as well. A sigh escaped him when he thought of all that Ron had gone through last year, when he had believed that he had to do something. Harry had been terrified when he had learned of it, and angry as well. He couldn't ever forget the powerful feeling he had felt when the news that Ron was missing. His best friend could not be found anywhere, and Harry would never forgive himself for letting Ron think that he had to go and search out some of Voldemort's followers in order to help. If Harry'd had his choice, he would have throttled the red head the moment he had returned. Lucky for Ron he'd been battling with those same Death Eaters Ron had been chasing in the first place. By the time he had gotten back to Hogwarts he had been too exhausted to do anything but give a hard glare and ignore him the rest of the night.

  Hermione, on the other hand, had not even told him or Ron why she had turned down being a Prefect. The entire school had been buzzing about it once it had been known, but she hadn't said anything about it, and Harry wasn't about to let anything happen to her because of it.

  Slowly walking down the shadowed halls towards the library, Harry reflected that his life would be even busier than it was if he had accepted being a Prefect. Between Quidditch and his studies, he wouldn't have been left with much time for his friends, and he valued them more than he did being a Prefect or even Head Boy if he had followed through with being a Prefect last year. Over that summer there had been countless times that he had received an owl in the dead of the night from the rest of the soon-to-be fifth-year Gryffindors asking why he hadn't become a Prefect. Harry had always written back that he was too busy with being captain of the Quidditch team to bother. Of course, that was always a poor excuse when his father had held both at the same time, but he hadn't had to go up against Voldemort either.

******

  The next day found the entire school buzzing with excitement. Harry was looking forward to enjoying the Halloween feast that would happen later in the night. Part of him, though, was on the lookout for strange happenings. It always seemed as if the start of something happened on Halloween, and he had begun to dread the day. Some small part of him wanted to skip this day of all the rest in the year, just so nothing could happen. His first year had been the troll; the second had been the first appearance of the basilisk, and so on and so on. Last year had been the appearance of a strange bird, the Turgate, long since thought extinct. The bird's song had been known to drive all that heard it insane, and it had sung that tune in the corridors that hadn't been used for many years. Harry, Ron and Hermione had stumbled upon it by accident when they had been detoured by Peeves on the way to class that day. That had been the beginning of another wild ride through the school year, ending with Harry having to face some of Voldemort's Death Eaters by himself. He just wondered what would be happening this year, or would he finally get a reprieve from the darkness this year. There would probably not be one. It hadn't happened the last six years. At least he had only been forced to meet Voldemort four times in those six years.

  Harry felt he could handle most of his classes, with the exception of Potions. Snape seemed to be even more vitriolic in his remarks and snipes about everything that Harry had made in class. The only good part about it was that Malfoy hadn't seemed as superior this year. That might have something to do with the detention he had been given by Professor Steele. The entire school had learned that he had had to clean the stands of the Quidditch field. That hadn't been done in twenty years, and he had to do all of it without the use of magic.

  He was just glad that he hadn't gotten detention from the DADA teacher, since she gave out intense lessons in humility and while most of them had been given out to Slytherins, none of the houses had been immune. There was one thing about the detentions that Harry was puzzled about, since the Professor was right there beside whichever student was being punished. The tall woman joined into the activity, even though she was technically making the student do such work. However, she had been given extra lessons to Harry, at Dumbledore's request, for more advanced training for the upcoming battle the old man felt was coming soon.

  "Mr. Potter."

  Professor Steele's voice broke into his thoughts as he made his way to the Quidditch field to practice. He wondered if she knew that he had been thinking about her, or if it was just chance that had made her come this way.

  "Would you please stop by my office before you go to the feast tonight? Professor Dumbledore will meet you there." Her eyes were gold upon him as she spoke, along with some spark Harry wasn't sure of.

  He nodded his head, curious as to the reason that the Headmaster would be at her office rather than his own. Still, one never knew what Professor Dumbledore was up to until you were in the thick of it. The old man had played a large part in gathering a large group of people to help fight against the darkness that was growing under Voldemort. He was also helping the older students to realize just what was going on outside of the school, adding more security as well as keeping the weekends at Hogsmeade quieter than usual.

  Two hours later he stood in front of Professor Steele's door, which was slightly ajar. Inside, he could hear a deep voice, which he recognized as Dumbledore's, and a high, wispy one that he didn't know. It seemed familiar to him, though, and he would find out in a moment. Knocking, he pushed the door open with the pressure of his hand on the thick oak planks.

  "Ah, Harry!" Dumbledore rose from his seat, setting the young child Harry had seen at the start of the school year down on the floor. "Just in time to join us to go to the feast!"

  Harry's green eyes must have showed their confusion, even as Marty ran over to him to tug on his hand. "Why me?" he asked Dumbledore.

  The old man shook his head. "I'm forgetting my manners as well as some other information." He shook his head again. "Harry Potter, meet Marty, or should I say Martina Hufflepuff."

  Harry's eyes grew wide as he looked at the child again. "Who? I thought Marty was a boy...."

  "That is her name," Professor Steele's voice answered as she came out of the inner room of her office. A small part of his mind noted that she had on even more elaborate robes than she usually wore, and that she had a jewel in the middle of the headband she always had on. "She is to be protected at all costs, Mr. Potter."

  Dumbledore looked especially grave, his eyes suddenly seeming much older to Harry. "Still, she is entitled to join the feast, and that is why we asked you to come here. We have need of your cloak, Harry."

  Something in his mind clicked, and he understood what the two teachers were asking of him. He nodded slightly as he fully grasped Marty's small hand. His green eyes shone with a knowledge that he shouldn't have to wear at such a young age. Still, he had the feeling that this child was as hunted as he was. "Will you tell me about her later?" he asked. Dumbledore and Steele nodded, but not before Harry noticed the worry in the woman's eyes and the ancient grief in the old man's.

  He should have known that something like this was going to happen. It never failed.

  "Did you get lost, Harry?" Seamus laughed as he finally joined the Gryffindors at the long table.

  He looked up with startled green eyes, hoping that nobody would notice the shuffling of feet directly behind him. It had taken him longer than he thought it would to get his cloak, and longer still to get the little girl calm enough where she would be able to be quiet in the Great Hall. Harry looked up and saw Dumbledore wink slyly at him before he scanned the rest of the table in the front of the room. Steele nodded casually, but Harry noticed that Snape wore a darker scowl than usual. The Potions master also seemed to know that something was afoot, but wasn't sure what exactly was happening, though he had the look about him that told he knew Harry was in the thick of it.

******

  "What is that?" Ron asked as soon as they got back to the dorm. One of his slender fingers was pointing towards Marty, who was peeking out of the cloak.

  Harry sighed and went over to the little girl and pulled the cloak back before pushing him towards the dorm Ron and he shared with the rest of the sixth year boys. Marty started making odd little noises, inviting stares from the rest of those in the common room. Harry gave another push, a little harder than he previously had before the girl followed the unspoken request. He gave a look to Ron as the other boy followed the two up the stairs.

  "Ron." Harry's whisper brought the red head's questions to a halt when they arrived in their room. "You can't tell anyone else about him," he said, indicating the squirming little girl who was trying to get untangled from the cloak. "This is something big, and it wouldn't be good if anybody knew about her." He sighed as a hurt expression crossed Ron's face. "I didn't mean it like that, Ron."

  The other boy's face became stony before he gave a stiff nod. "I understand."

  Harry shook his head. "No you don't, because even I don't understand what's going on." He turned to his bed where Marty was currently giggling as she found Harry's stash of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Marty," he hissed in the girl's direction.

  "This is that kid, isn't it?" Ron's voice was a little stilted, but Harry could tell he was far more interested in the answer to his question than remaining in a sulking fit.

  "Yes, and I need to see Dumbledore and Professor Steele about her story." A sigh escaped him as Martin refused to give up the box of sugared treats. Harry tried to pry the box out of grubby little hands, wondering how this girl could even be hungry after eating everything that he had been able to slip to Marty.

  "No!" Marty's high voice echoed around the room and Harry was glad that it was just the three of them in it. Neville, Seamus and Dean would be coming soon, though, and he knew that there would be more questions. Besides, he had to get Marty back to Professor Steele's office soon, but he had to wait until the noise became so loud that nobody would notice his leaving.

  Ron came over and got the box away from Marty. The little girl looked ready to cry when the red head shoved something in her hands. Harry watched with amazement when the sobs turned to soft giggles as the child tried to hold onto the squirming bit of feathers that Pig had grown to be. "Hold onto him," Ron muttered under his breath. He stood and faced Harry. "I'm coming with you," he said. His tone brooked no argument, and Harry wasn't about to give his best friend one. Instead, he gave a quick nod and hurried to put the cloak back on Marty.

  "Hermione should know, too," Harry said as he finally got Marty to follow him down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom, searching for his friend as the Gryffindors continued the Halloween celebration.

  "What should I do?" Hermione asked when they asked quietly if she could follow them. "I have some studying to do."

  "Hermione," Ron began, exasperatedly.

  "Hermione," Harry cut him off. "You should hear this, but we have to leave before anybody notices we're gone."

  She studied them for a moment before she reluctantly nodded.

******

  The four of them stood silently in front of Professor Steele's door, not sure if they should knock. Crashes were coming from inside, as well as some serious shouting.

  Harry raised a hand to knock as Dumbledore came around a corner.

  "Harry, do you think Marty enjoyed herself?"

  He nodded as the little girl escaped from him and ran towards the old man.

  Dumbledore patted Marty's small hand before he opened to the door. "Don't be too worried. Severus and Sirius are having a little tiff."

  All three pairs of eyes grew round as they saw the damage the two men had wrought. Harry looked past them and found McGonagall shaking her head as Steele watched calmly. How come this wasn't affecting her and it was her office?

  "Glad you could make it, Harry," a voice from behind him called. He turned and found Remus and Arabella entering behind them. The older man sighed when he caught sight of the two in the middle of the room before he stiffened at the sight of Professor Steele. Harry's green eyes narrowed in thought at this.

  "This will be all for tonight," Dumbledore was saying as he led Marty over to where the two women sat before walking over to break up the fight between Professor Snape and Sirius was taking place. "Gentlemen, please."

  Harry sat down, a little confused that Dumbledore had allowed the fight to take place in the first place. Well, it was Halloween after all, so something had to be different. Ron and Hermione were whispering softly beside him as Sirius slowly made his way to the empty seat on his other side. All the while the two men glared at each other.

  "What was all that?" Harry asked in a soft whisper.

  Sirius looked at him, his black eyes still glinting with something Harry was glad wasn't directed at him. "I'll tell you later," was the panted reply.

  "I'm glad that all of you were able to have some kind of celebration tonight, because I'm afraid that it will be the last we have for a while," Dumbledore began. A hush fell over the room as each of them digested his words. Harry saw alarm cross several faces, even as his attention was pulled back to the man in the center of the room. "I thought that we would be able to do some of what I have already started to do before I would have to tell you all, but it has come to my attention that the more eyes the better."

  He stopped in front of Marty, whose huge blue eyes had been following Dumbledore as he had crossed the room. The little girl's mouth hung slightly open as she pulled a finger from her lips before the old man lifted her from the chair.

  "Albus," McGonagall started.

  Dumbledore stopped her. "I would like all of you to meet somebody that Voldemort -"

  Harry felt Ron shudder next to him as Dumbledore said this.

  "- would like to join his camp. I'm afraid I will not let this happen." Dumbledore's old, blue eyes impaled each of them with a question, and Harry didn't know how he could answer it when they rested on him. "Please meet Martina Hufflepuff."

  Snape shot out of his seat. "What?!"

  Harry could tell that Sirius was restless, even though he didn't rise from his chair.

  "She is the last remaining heir of Helga Hufflepuff," Steele's voice answered, toneless like always.

  All eyes slid towards her, even as Marty squirmed from Dumbledore's grasp to run over to where Harry sat.

  "How do you know this?" Sirius asked the question that Harry was too shocked to ask.

  "Moody found her," Dumbledore replied. "From what Alastor can gather, her mother was killed by Voldemort in August, but didn't realize that a child had been left behind. Several Aurors had been sent to see if any clues had been left when they found Marty in an old shed in the back of the yard.

  "So far, only Minerva, Ella and I knew this, and have tried to take care of her." Dumbledore chuckled, startling all those in the room. "Professor Steele is the only one who can make her take a bath, but her care will come down to much more than that, I'm afraid."

  Harry found himself hard pressed to follow Professor Dumbledore's words as Marty wiggled her way onto his lap. Finally, he grabbed the little girl and held her with both arms, even as a squeak emitted from her.

  "What can we do?" Remus asked, his long hair shading his eyes as they looked around the room.

  "Martina trusts too easily," McGonagall said. "We must shelter her from even those in the school, though by now most of the students know she is here."

  "And that is where you will be needed," Dumbledore stated. "We need someone to watch over her while classes are in session during the day. The three of us will look after Marty at night, but it has become hard to juggle watching Marty and attend to classes."

  Professor McGonagall stood up. "There is an old corridor that we have set aside, but we cannot keep Marty there all the time. She is too young to understand."

  Harry looked down at the girl in his arms. She seemed to have fallen asleep with all the excitement. It was just as well he did, for the conversation trailed deep into the night. The only consolation Harry found was that there were no classes the following day, as it was Saturday.

******

  Harry sat up suddenly, the dream he was in the middle of abruptly torn from him.

  "Harry Potter, sir," a squeaky voice from the foot of his bed called.

  Reaching for his glasses, he was greeted with the sight of Dobby standing on the footboard, his hands worrying each other. Harry wondered if all freed house elves were like this when they tried to dress themselves.

  Dobby was wearing a baby bonnet, which was pink, and an odd assortment of rags stitched into a shirt of some sort. He noted that the house elf wasn't wearing a matched pair of socks on his feet, as one of them was much longer than the other, and they were different colors.

  "What is it Dobby?" he whispered to the house elf. Harry was pretty sure it was quite early in the morning, and his roommates would not like to be woken in such a manner.

  "Dobby was sent to get you. Harry Potter is needed downstairs in the Professor's office."

  Harry cringed as Dobby's voice echoed around the room, even though his curtains had been drawn tight around the bed. The cringe turned to a shudder as he recognized movement coming from the others' beds.

  "Harry?" Ron's question seemed very loud in the stillness of the room.

  "Harry Potter's Wheezy!" Dobby's voice echoed in the room, followed by Harry's low groan.

  "What's that?" Dean's voice was raised in question from the door leading to the bathroom.

  Harry sighed and rested his head in his hands for a second before Seamus pulled the draperies back. "What is that thing?" he asked, his voice tinged with angered sleep.

  "Dobby gets to meet Harry Potter's friends?" The high-pitched voice grew excited as Dobby looked at the new faces surrounding Harry's bed.

  "Is there something you wanted to tell us, Harry?" Seamus asked, an impish look growing on his face as Neville and Dean made their way to Harry's bed.

  Harry shook his head and wished he hadn't woken up.

******

  He finally managed to make it to where Dobby had been sent to him to come in the first place. It had taken ten minutes to explain Dobby to the other three as Ron was asking Dobby why he had come up to the dorm in the first place. A huge yawn threatened to crack his jaw as he raised a hand to knock on the door.

  "Harry!"

  Marty's voice was faint through the thick door, but it grew louder as he approached the door and the little girl tried to open it up.

  "Marty." This time Harry could hear Professor Steele's voice at the door. "You are not to open the door without knowing who is on the other side." The door opened to reveal the DADA teacher as she usually was. The only difference that Harry could make out was that her brow was slightly furrowed.

  "Mr. Potter, please, come in."

  The mess from the night before was no longer there as he stepped into the room. As soon as the door was shut he found himself with an armful of giggling little girl. Harry looked up at Professor Steele and found a warm look to her eyes, even though there was no trace of emotion on her face or in her bearing. A small spark of an idea came to him, but he would have to think of it later as Marty pulled him to the other side of the room.

  On the floor lay various toys, some of them Muggle-made. As the little girl sat down, pulling Harry to his knees, Professor Steele came over. He looked up as she knelt on the floor beside him, and he noticed that the markings on this robe resembled a map he had once seen in a book.

  "I apologize for the short notice, Mr. Potter, but Professor Dumbledore has requested a short meetings with all the teachers," she began. "It will only be for a short time until one of the others can come get her."

  Harry nodded, still a little unsure why she had picked him of the three. He turned to look at Marty and heard the great door shut again. Well, that kind of answered the question he had wanted to ask.

******

  Half an hour later, Professor Steele arrived with Professor McGonagall. The Transfiguration teacher was speaking in hushed, rapid tones that were too low for Harry to hear. It was obvious that she didn't want to be heard when she stopped talking as soon as she spotted him.

  "Mr. Potter," she began. "Professor Steele and I can take it from here. Breakfast is being served in the Great Hall."

  Harry eyed her for a quick second before nodding.

  "No! I wants Harry to play wif me!" He heard Marty's little voice as he closed the door, followed by a soft sobbing sound. He was only a couple of steps away when he heard a soft singing, much like he had heard those few nights ago. Harry couldn't quite tell what was being sung, just that it soothed his hurt. It was a strange feeling, as even his worries lessened a little bit - just enough for him to think of other things he had put off.

  The farther he got from the office, the more the effects began to wear off. Harry thought that it must be the reason the Professor Steele could get Marty to take baths. He certainly wouldn't mind being serenaded by that warming voice - but not in the bath. No, he wouldn't let his seventeen-year-old mind go down that direction. Food. That was better for his thoughts to flow towards. Yes, food.

  He made his way to the Gryffindor table, but was the first of the seventh years to arrive. For once he was earlier than Hermione, who followed him by only a minute. She stopped at the sight of him, his hair mussed from a tussle he'd had with Marty, as he calmly poured syrup over his pancakes.

  "Harry?"

  Bottle green eyes shot upwards as she took the seat directly across from him.

  "I had to see someone," he answered her unspoken question.

  "Dobby gets to meet Harry Potter's friends," came a squeaky voice that was definitely not the house elf's. He turned to find Seamus snickering as he and the other seventh year boys strode into the Great Hall. "Dobby thinks Harry Potter the greatest, sir," the Irish boy continued in his normal voice, even as a blush spread across Harry's cheeks.

  Hermione brightened at this. "You saw Dobby, Harry?"

  Ron laughed. "Yup. He was a little too early for the rest of us, though."

  "You sure, Harry Potter's Wheezy?"

  The red head smacked Seamus as the two sat down. "Shut up, pipsqueak!"

  "Dean!" Seamus whined.

  The others looked at Dean expectantly, and he upheld his end of the bargain. "I agree with the short one here," he pointed to Ron, "that you are definitely a pipsqueak."

  Both boys looked downcast as the rest laughed, Lavender and Parvati joining them.

******

  They weren't as joyful on Monday, when they had to go to Potions. Snape was in a terrible mood, and only Harry, Ron, and Hermione had any clue why he was staring at a small toy at the edge of his desk. Draco had commented on it, and he had raised the wrath of the tall teacher, startling the whole class. In all their seven years had he never turned so on a Slytherin.

  Harry guessed that Snape had been forced to look after the child, but he wasn't sure who of the two had been more affected - the man or the girl. He guessed that it was the teacher, since he didn't think that Marty would let it get to her too much. Not for a three year old at least.

  "What are you smirking at, Potter?" Snape's voice was dangerously quiet.

  "Nothing, sir," he managed to get out in a perfectly normal voice. "I wasn't aware I was smirking."

  Harry saw Snape open his mouth to remark about that comment when the Potions teacher paled. He turned his eyes in the same direction and his jaw fell slack when he noticed an arm come out of nowhere to grab the toy off Snape's desk. A very little arm at that. A gulp stuck in his throat and he hoped that nobody would notice Marty as he pulled the toy off the edge.

  The rest of the room grew quiet as when they saw where Snape's attention was directed. Harry was relieved to see that only the toy could be seen, but it looked like it was now floating through mid air, and not a spell in sight. Next to him he could feel something coming from Snape, and he knew it was anger. Well, at least it wasn't at him.

  As nonchalantly as he could, he put in the last ingredient needed in his potion and began to stir it. Ron took his cue and bundled up the extras they had. Bit by bit the rest of the classroom forgot what had just happened, but Harry noticed that Malfoy's eyes had narrowed with a sharp glint to them.

  "You got off lightly, Potter," Snape growled under his breath.

  Harry held his sigh until Snape was on the other side of the room.

  "That was close," Ron whispered.

  Harry nodded and looked over at Snape, whose pale face was now a colorful red as he looked at Neville's cauldron.


	3. Strange Days Indeed

******

Chapter 3

Strange Days Indeed

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is a goddess for thinking up this wonderful world. She, along with WB, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and numerous others are lucky to own it. I do not.

AN: I decided with this chapter to switch POV every once in a while, but only with each new section in the chapter itself. There was a lot more I wanted to convey than just in Harry's view.

Thanks to Lily, outcast123 and Phoenix for reviewing. The explanations are coming, just not this chapter. Next, I promise!

******

  Harry looked at the others as they gathered in Professor Dumbledore's office. It was another of the meetings, although not a scheduled one at that. The Headmaster looked deeply troubled as they gathered in his office, and he wondered what had happened.

  The faded blue eyes didn't twinkle like they usually did and Harry missed it. It had been too long since he had seen such a thing. It looked like this war was going to drag on, and he didn't know if he had enough strength to fight along with Dumbledore. Finally, the door opened and closed for the last time.

  "I'm sorry to pull you away at such a time, but I'm afraid I've some bad news," the old man began.

  Harry looked around the room to see everybody's expression. Professor McGonagall seemed saddened while Snape wore his usual scowl. Professor Steele wore a blank mask, but her eyes were dull. Mr. Weasley's face was pale and Harry could feel Ron tense beside him when he caught sight of his father.

  "The Dementors finally took Azkaban."

  The room was silent and Harry was afraid to disrupt it even to breathe.

  "It looks like most of the Death Eaters that still remained there have escaped, and I do believe they will eventually head here to Hogwarts."

  Harry blanched. He knew they were coming to get him. Ever since the beginning of this summer he had known that something like this was going to happen, but he didn't want it to happen so soon. He felt eyes on him and he looked up to see Sirius watching him carefully, a guarded look on his face as if he too knew what they were looking for. Harry caught a haunted glaze in the dark eyes for a moment before the older man pulled himself together.

  "Minister Fudge refused to deal with this for too long. Now we are the ones that have to pay the consequences," Dumbledore continued, his blue eyes hard in his age-old wise face. "He was there when it happened."

  Mr. Weasley went to speak but Dumbledore raised his hand. "No, Arthur, let me finish this and then you can speak." Mr. Weasley nodded and slumped into his chair as if he had been handed a large weight.

  "We only know this because of Percy Weasley, who managed to escape when this first began."

  Harry felt Ron tremble next to him. He reached over and took his friend's hand and gave an encouraging squeeze. Even though Ron and Percy didn't get along personality wise, they each loved each other in their own ways.

  "Sir?" Hermione raised her hand. "Was - was Percy hurt?" Her normally strident voice was shaky and Harry could hear a faint trace of tears in it.

  "Fortunately, no." Harry gave a deep, silent sigh at that and felt Ron release a little bit of the tension. He didn't care how funny it looked for him to hold his hand, but he refused not to be there when Ron needed him to be.

  "Apparently a couple of the Death Eaters that worked in the Ministry were there and tried to force Fudge into handing over the prison to them. When Percy noticed this he went for help. By the time it arrived the Dementors had taken over and it was too late." Dumbledore sighed, and Harry could hear exhaustion in it.

  The old man nodded to Mr. Weasley, who stood up. "Those left in the Ministry sent a bunch of Aurors to Azkaban, and only four returned out of the ten. They did manage to bring back one of the Death Eaters."

  "Malfoy." McGonagall's voice was sharp, cutting through the two syllables.

  Mr. Weasley nodded. "He's being kept somewhere, but I haven't been able to find out where yet."

  Harry looked back at Dumbledore, who wore a grave face. "Professor Snape, when this meeting is over please bring up Mr. Draco Malfoy. He will have to be told."

  Harry held his breath. He wondered how the Slytherin boy would take this news. He might even be expecting it, but he would have to look for a reaction.

  Dumbledore went to the door that led to the small room behind his office and pushed it open, sticking his head into it. "I'm afraid that we will have to add another person to this group, but I have the feeling that she will be able to help greatly. Aeryn, please come in."

  The door opened wider, revealing a young girl, no more than twelve, holding hands with Marty.

  "Dumbledore, who is this?" asked Mundungus Fletcher.

  "This is my great-great-granddaughter, Aeryn Negre," Dumbledore said. The little girl pulled on her hand and ran towards Harry as Dumbledore led Aeryn to Professor Steele. "And Ella's little sister."

  Shock ran through everybody else in the room. Harry didn't have time to think as Marty crawled up on his lap, even as some niggling idea tingled in his brain. The name was very familiar. He looked over at Professor Steele, who stood up. "I am not related to Professor Dumbledore. Only Aeryn is. She is my half-sister," she said in her toneless voice.

  Harry looked at her again and found age-old eyes in the young girl's face, though she was smiling up at her sister. He looked again at the Professor's face and found a trace of sadness on it. He wondered if anybody could see it.

  "Harry!" Marty's squeaking voice brought everybody back from their shock.

  "How can a twelve year old know what to do?" asked Snape, eyeing the girl with distrust.

  "You will see later, Severus," Dumbledore replied. He refused to say anything more on it until the meeting was over.

  As they were leaving, Harry heard him remind Snape that he wanted to see Draco as soon as possible. A part of him wanted to stay behind and listen to what the Headmaster was going to say to the Slytherin boy, but he also knew that he wouldn't get the chance as 'Snuffles' pushed him down the hallway to an unused classroom. Hermione, Ron, and Remus followed soon after.

  "What is Dumbledore thinking, bringing that girl into this?" Sirius said as soon as he return to his normal form. The tall man began to pace one wall of the room, making sure he was well away from the window as the opposite side of the room.

  "Sirius," Remus said in a soft voice. "I'm sure that Albus has his reasons."

  "They'd better be good." Sirius stopped at this point and was silent for a minute. Harry watched the changes as they passed over his face, one emotion flowing right after the other. "I - I..."

  "Spit it out, Padfoot," Remus said, a twinkle in his eye as he winked at Harry.

  "I think I've seen her mother," Sirius finally said.

  Harry perked up at that. Where had he seen such a woman? "Where?"

  Sirius looked at him before turning to the others. "Before Azkaban," he said in a shuttered voice.

  The room was silent for a couple of minutes before Hermione shuffled over to one of the windows. Harry watched her for a moment before he looked over at Sirius. "Sirius?"

  The older man started, as if he'd forgotten there was somebody else in the room. Harry watched his eyes travel around to the others before he turned back to him. "She was one of the people a couple of Death Eaters killed before Voldemort...."

  "But that's impossible!" Remus exclaimed. "That girl can't be more than twelve. If what you are saying is true, she would never have been born, since her mother would have been dead for four years!"

  Harry looked at his godfather, whose face ran a gamut of emotions. Slowly the older man shook his head. "I guess that is true, but that woman looked just like her. I remember the picture in the Daily Prophet. Lily was so torn up about it."

  Remus put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, but didn't say anything.

******

  Malfoy looked around the room, wondering why Dumbledore had wanted to speak to him now. The detention he had gotten from McGonagall had been last week, and he didn't think he'd gotten caught doing anything since then. A cold chill ran down his spine, but he ignored it as the old man leaned forward in his chair.

  "Mr. Malfoy, do you know why I asked to see you this late?"

  Draco shook his head.

  "Your father," Dumbledore said before he went quiet.

  Draco uneasily eyed him, conscious of Professor Snape standing to one side of the room.

  "Yes. About your father," the old man began again. "I'm afraid to say that he was involved in an incident at Azkaban earlier today."

  Slate grey eyes narrowed at this, but nothing else crossed his face. Draco buried any feelings he was having down deep. He wasn't quite sure what Dumbledore was going to say.

  "He was captured as a Death Eater by several Aurors and is being held by the Ministry until a trial is arranged."

  Draco stood up suddenly. "That's not possible. My father..."

  "Is a Death Eater." Dumbledore's voice was suddenly hard.

  Draco was startled enough that he fell into his chair.

  "You have yet to carry the Dark Mark, haven't you?"

  He felt like the pale blue eyes were piercing him to the very core of his soul. Draco gave a slight nod before he could stop himself. His eyes widened when he remembered that Snape was still in the room. He knew the Potions teacher and head of Slytherin was in the same group as his father. There might be some good in this.

  "Then what about Professor Snape?" he asked, his cold voice slyly insinuating a little revenge for the question.

  "Ah, yes." Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Severus, would you please bring Aeryn out of the room there?"

  Snape's black eyes glittered sharply in the bright light of Dumbledore's office. "Very well, Albus." He turned and knocked on the door. Draco watched with studious intent as the door opened slightly and Snape muttered something to whoever was inside. As somebody stepped out of the door, he was only slightly aware of Snape's shock, but he felt stunned when he saw a young girl, not much younger than his seventeen, approach him.

  "Albus?" Snape's voice was distant in his hearing as the girl, presumably Aeryn, walked directly in front of him. Draco saw the puzzled look on her face as she looked towards Dumbledore.

  "This is him?" Her clear voice made Draco shudder. There was something about it that reminded him of Professor Steele and inwardly he cringed, even though he knew he shouldn't cower before anyone.

  "Yes, Aeryn."

  She looked back down at Draco and he saw that her eyes were a lot like the Headmaster's in the way they seemed to see below the surface. They were a strange color, blue with a million different green flecks in them, shining strangely in the suddenly dim room.

  He started to feel drowsy, unaware of Dumbledore gently pushing him towards the inner room. Stumbling, he drowsily looked around the strange room but not caring much about it as he glanced at Aeryn again. Feeling some piece of furniture brush against the back of his legs, he wavered for a second before he felt too heavy to keep himself upright. Draco fought to keep his eyes open as he saw the girl lean over him but it was a losing battle.

  Scattered dreams flitted behind his eyelids before he rose to the surface of consciousness. Silvery eyes looked around sleepily as Draco pulled himself into a sitting position. He didn't remember lying down, but going to Dumbledore's office must have been a dream. Eyes wandered lazily around the room until realization hit that this wasn't his room he was settled in.

  Draco shot up to his feet before he tumbled down again. Underneath him lay a large book with strange markings written across it. He hadn't seen anything like this before in his wanderings through the library. He picked it up and thumbed through a couple of pages before the weird letters swam in front of his eyes.

  "Awake I see, Mr. Malfoy."

  His head shot up when he saw Professor Steele walking into the room. Behind her was Professor Dumbledore, who wore a worried expression on his face. Draco was a little curious at that, but he didn't feel up to saying anything about it. The DADA teacher came over and put a cool hand to his forehead as bewilderment coursed through him. What was going on?

  "Aeryn did well," he heard Professor Steele mutter under his breath.

  Draco jerked at this. Now that he was fully awake he could remember what the girl had done. "She - she took me on a trip," he stuttered. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or reality but it had scared him. His father had been sitting in a room, unable to use any magic, and he had been screaming. When they had first entered the room, Draco couldn't decipher what his father had been saying, but after a couple seconds of adjustment he had understood.

  "My father..." he trailed off, looking up at Dumbledore who nodded gently. "He was saying it was me. That I'm the one who's doing all these things." Draco took a shuddering breath, feeling as if he had to get it out, to make somebody understand the pain he was in. He could remember the screams from the elder Malfoy, how he was pleading that it couldn't be *him.* He was a respectable wizard and that he was totally ashamed of his son for dragging him into this. That it was just like all those years ago when he was innocently dragged into the situation and there was no way he would ever do this. Bewitchment must have fallen over him again.

  Draco had heard these sorts of things before when there had been inquiries, but his father was fighting for his life now and *he* had never taken the blame. Why would his father say that he was the guilty one of the family? He would rather much ignore the whole thing in the first place, choosing a quick suicide over the entire mess.

  "Draco," Dumbledore cut into his thoughts. "It was real."

  His eyes shot back to the Headmaster's. How could it be real? There was no possible way that could be so. His father would never implicate his son in *his* problems. Would he? Draco's forehead furrowed in thought as he looked at Dumbledore, who seemed to have aged several decades over the last couple of years.

  "El?" Draco's attention switched to the person in the doorway. An exhausted, strained looking Aeryn stood shakily next to the door, Snape close behind her with an unusual expression to his face that he couldn't quite place.

  Professor Steele strode over to the girl and helped her sit down, close to Draco. He could see strain in her young face, which somehow seemed a little older than it had earlier in the evening. As he looked at her she turned to watch him with a concerned look on her face.

  "All right, Draco?" Worry flowed through her voice and her eyebrows pinched together as she concentrated on him.

  Shock ran through him at the obvious concern she had for him. She looked worse off than he felt, or maybe he looked the same. For once he didn't care about his self image. A small part of him was shocked that someone would show this much concern for him, and not just for a favor he would have to repay.

  "Albus." Snape's voice from the doorway snapped everybody's head around. "Tell me what's happening here."

  Dumbledore sighed and crossed the room. Draco choked back a laugh as the Potions teacher tried to fight the polite order for him to sit down while the Headmaster explained. Snape put up a fuss before he finally took a seat well away from the others. Out of the corner of his eye he saw confusion run across Aeryn's face. He looked over to Professor Steele and found she was watching all this with her normal mask on.

  Only once had he seen it slip, but he knew enough not to say anything about it. It had been while he had been in detention. He had been startled when she had helped him. The last of the stands had almost been finished when a wave of dizziness had hit him and he had started to fall down the stairs. Panic had fluttered through him as he realized he didn't have the strength to catch himself. Then he had seen the expression of his teacher's face when she grabbed a hold of his arm. Worry had been etched into a most lifelike face. He had been stunned by it.

  Now he looked up at Dumbledore as he felt eyes on him. Only one pair was he concerned about. Draco looked steadily at the Headmaster, refusing to back down from the skill he saw in those pale blue eyes. The shrewd look in them seemed to burn a hole right through him, leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake and him an empty shell. Was this what somebody felt like after a Dementor's kiss? He knew that was his fate if his father had his way, and he didn't want that. He wanted to get down on his knees for the first time ever and have somebody listen to him, not his family, his name, but him as a person.

  "Draco?"

  Aeryn's voice came to him again. Dull grey eyes turned to find sadness in her unusual eyes, strange even for a witch.

  "I'm sorry you had to learn it this way, Draco," Dumbledore said in a concerned voice. At that Draco turned his attention outwardly again and found the other three in the room waiting for some kind of reaction. Snape was silent, a strange look to his face. Professor Steele's eyes danced in a myriad of colors in the flickering light from the fire, and Aeryn's hand on his gave him the last little step back into reality.

  Draco was silent as Dumbledore turned to Snape. "You are wondering why Aeryn has aged so much in a couple of hours?"

  Snape's black eyes seemed to bite at the air around him as they flashed. Dumbledore gave a small chuckle, making Draco realize that he hadn't heard such a sound from the old man in quite a while.

  "I do believe she could give you a run for your money, Severus," Dumbledore's eyes glowed for a second with pride such as Draco had never seen. The only pride he had received was stilted by his father's sense of power over his son and wife.

  Snape sat forward sharply in the chair. His eyes became slits as they glared at the girl next to Draco. "You've managed to perfect the aging potion?" His voice was dangerously low.

  Aeryn gave a tired laugh. "Yes," she said, giving an exhausted glance over to Professor Steele, who nodded at her. "I wouldn't recommend taking it however. But, it got me safely here, unrecognized." She stood, her legs seeming to not want to hold her weight. "Forgive me, but I think I need to rest for the moment."

  "I'll see her out, Albus," Professor Steele said as she guided Aeryn out of the door and out of Dumbledore's office. Draco looked between Snape and Dumbledore, wondering what was about to happen next.

AN: Aeryn is pronounced "I-Rin," with the "r" somewhere between a soft "r" and an "l."


	4. Cold Winds Blowing

******

Chapter 4

Cold Winds Blowing

Disclaimer: Yes, I am Jo Rowlings. :sigh: I couldn't even convince myself of that. I make an awful cruddy liar.

Thanks to crazy, Tidmag (he'll get the answers eventually!), Prophetess of Hearts, and Polgara for reviewing!

******

  Harry shivered slightly as he, Ron and Hermione walked back from Hagrid's hut after class. It had been a little stilted, since Malfoy hadn't shown up for class. He wondered what was happening, and not just for the first time. The Christmas holiday started tomorrow, and the young Slytherin, bane of Harry's existence in school, hadn't been seen in two days.

  From what he'd heard from in the common room everything from the rumor that Draco had been expelled to being in the hospital wing due to an accident in Charms was the reason that he was missing. Harry's chest hurt as he thought about it, but he didn't think that the Slytherin had really had to leave school. For one thing, though, Lucius Malfoy hadn't shown up. That meant he was still being held. He just wished he knew what was going on.

  A sigh slipped from his lips as he dropped his books down on his bed and he followed them.

  "What's wrong, Harry?"

  He looked over at Ron and shook his head.

  "Too much thinking, I guess." Harry sat up and noticed a letter addressed to him on the table next to his bed. Curious, he slit the wax seal and read it. Black brows furrowed in thought as he looked over the letter a second time. Why would Dumbledore send him an invitation to a private holiday party in the teacher's apartments? And for two nights from now?

  He thought about and realized that the Headmaster knew he was going to be the lone Gryffindor left in the school. Hermione had to go home for the holiday because of some relative coming to stay with her parents, and they hadn't seen her since she had started school here. She had been excited when she had gotten the letter and Harry had known that he couldn't ask her to stay here once he knew he would be alone. At that point he had known that Ron was leaving to meet Charlie's fiancée. Harry had been invited, but Dumbledore had suggested he stay here to be safe.

  "What's that?" Ron asked as he looked up from the invite.

  "I got invited to the staff Christmas party," Harry said slowly, still trying to figure out what he would have to do. According to what was written there, they would be drawing names for a gift exchange that would happen at Christmas dinner. He wrinkled his nose when he reread that part. It would be his luck if he got Snape. He would just hope that he didn't get the Potions teacher when they drew names the day everybody left that was going home.

  "At least I won't be the only student going," Harry said as Ron finished reading it.

  "I still think you should be able to go home with me and Ginny," Ron said indignantly.

  "Professor Dumbledore has his reasons, Ron. Besides, I need you to take a couple pictures of Percy's new girlfriend." Harry felt a quirky smile cross his lips as Ron's eyes grew wide. Both burst into laughter as Neville came into the room.

  "Hey, Neville," Harry said. Ron waved at the other boy, who smiled in greeting. Harry had made it a point to talk to Neville at least once a day after the third and last task of the Tri-Wizard Cup. It hadn't been conscious at first, but he had realized that he really liked to talk to the normally silent boy. And he had an extensive knowledge of plants that had amazed Harry when he had learned of it.

  "I heard we have a substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts for today and tomorrow," Neville said as he put his books in his trunk.

  "What?" Both Harry and Ron jumped off the bed.

  "Just for two days," Neville reassured them.

  Harry nodded. He knew that Neville really liked Professor Steele and her style of teaching. He had started to answer more things in class and was really competing with Hermione for top marks in the class. The competition between them was starting to become funny, especially as Harry didn't even try and he was keeping pace with both.

  "So who is it?"

  Neville shook his head. "I don't know. I only know we get a substitute because Professor Sprout was wishing Professor Steele good luck and that she would see her at the staff party next week."

  "Hm, I wonder who it could be?" Ron thought out loud.

  "We'll see after lunch, which we should be getting to," Harry reminded him. They met up with Hermione in the common room and were soon joined with the other seventh years as they made their way to the Great Hall.

~

  Harry shifted in his seat as he waited for class to start. Even the Ravenclaws were a little restless at the delay that their substitute teacher was causing. Almost five minutes had passed since the class was to begin and there was no sign of anyone.

  "That's enough!" A strange, female voice sounded down the hallway, along with a scuffling noise that bounced off the stone walls. The door flew open to the classroom, revealing a woman with tousled shoulder-length, dark blond hair tugging on a leash. "Get in here!"

  A frazzled look crossed her face as she pulled harder on the lead before a body came flying across the threshold. Harry was taken aback by the creature that stood in front of the classroom as his nose was assailed by an awful stench.

  "Yes, I know it smells bad," the woman said, waving her free hand in front of her face. She pushed the creature over to one of the corners and wrapped the lead around a hook in the wall, securing it tightly. She crossed to the middle of the front of the desk and shook her head. "I apologize for being late but that," she pointed to the creature, "was being fussy."

  She shook her head and laughed, a rich sound that echoed pleasantly around the room.

  "I am Professor Aeryn Negre, lately of La Incendio Montagna, and am, thankfully, only here to teach for two days." She gave a crooked smile as Harry looked at her carefully in puzzlement. "I was recently the Potions Master there, but unfortunately our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor decided it would be a good thing to let that loose," here she pointed to the creature again with a look of disgust on her face, "and now half of the students refuse to step foot in the castle until no signs of the destruction remain. Many of you might find my name familiar as I am the author of your current potions book."

  The class groaned. "Don't blame me. I put the information there. It is up to your instructor to find a way to turn it into a practical study, although all of you would benefit from reading the lesson beforehand." Professor Negre had a large grin on her face when the students groaned again. "Now, have any of you read a book called The Hobbit?"

  Hermione raised her hand, as well as a couple of the Ravenclaws. Professor Negre nodded.

  "This is a _Yrch_, or an Orc, as described in that book." She went over and pulled it close to the window where the sun was faintly shining. The creature cowered away from the rays of light and tried to run back into the corner. "It doesn't like sunlight, and if the light's strong enough will burn the skin. This thing is very dangerous, and I wouldn't even be bringing it into this place if it hadn't been given a charm by Professor Flitwick.

  "The best way to get away from this thing, and I highly recommend you run after seeing it, is to use 'Stupefy' or another stunning spell; the more powerful the better." Professor Negre led it back to the corner where it made grunting noises and tried to grab her. She leapt back and tugged hard on the leash and quickly tied it up and left it alone.

  Harry had watched her the entire time and wondered if he had heard her name correctly. Two nights ago he had met someone with the same name as the teacher and there was a huge age difference between the two. The more he thought about it, the more confused he ended up being. He also felt oddly safe in this classroom, though, even with the strange creature grunting in one corner.

  A headache was starting to pulse when the class ended with no acknowledgement from him.

  "Mr. Potter? Are you ok?" Professor Negre's question was dim against the roaring pain that seemed to shatter his brain.

  "Harry?" Ron's panicky voice sounded distant.

  "Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione's questions seemed even further away than Ron's.

  In the dim recesses of his mind he could feel himself fall forward before darkness swept over him.

******

  A ray of winter sunshine battered against his eyelids as he slowly woke up. Blurry figures stood to his left as soft voices spoke in a language other than English. Harry could tell from the smell that he was in the infirmary and he reached over to the table he knew would be next to the bed.

  "Ah, Mr. Potter, I see you've woken up finally," Professor Steele said as he put his glasses on. He saw her and Professor Negre next to his bed, the DADA standing while the other sat.

  "You were in my dreams," he said, his voice still sleepy sounding.

  Professor Negre nodded, her face looking exhausted.

  "She's a shadowwalker, Harry." Dumbledore's voice held a worried tone to it as he walked further into the room. Behind him stood Snape and McGonagall.

  Harry cringed as Snape walked up to the bed where he lay before he moved on to another one. He watched with curiosity as he saw the head of Slytherin stand next to a bed that held Draco Malfoy. McGonagall went into Madame Pomfrey's office and closed the door. Green eyes glinting, he didn't notice that the two women and the Headmaster were carefully watching him.

  "Mr. Potter, do you remember what you saw?" Professor Steele asked.

  He looked at her. "Yeah," he said, rubbing one temple. "Professor Negre and..." He was silent for a minute.

  "It's okay, Harry," she said. "Call me Aeryn." She turned to Professor Steele. "Don't be pushy, El." Harry looked up to see a slightly cheeky grin on Professor - Aeryn's face as she looked up at Professor Steele. He couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him as Aeryn turned and winked at him.

  "Harry," Dumbledore said with an amused tone in his voice before it drifted back into sadness. "Please tell us what happened."

  "Why can't Aeryn?" Harry asked with confusion.

  "I can only take you places and bring you back. It takes all my focus to get you to where *you* want to go, enough that I can't concentrate on anything but the person that is with me." He looked in her eyes and saw a flicker of hurt and confusion in them. "I can feel the emotions, but I can't see what's happening. I felt it, too." She gave a great shudder. "I don't want to go back there."

  "Please, Harry." He turned to Professor Dumbledore.

  "Voldemort was at Azkaban," he said in a hushed tone. "He was doing... something, I don't know what, to Fudge." Bright green eyes were briefly covered as he blinked. When he opened his eyes they were a dulled grey-green. A shudder ran across his body as he realized what else had been going on. "Most of the prisoners were given the kiss, as well as the people from the ministry."

  A silence filled the infirmary for several minutes before being broken by the door opening. McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey came out of the office attached to the infirmary, along with a man, long black hair held in a series of shining black bands, and a young man around Harry's age with straight black hair hanging to his knees.

  "Dad!" Aeryn stood up and hugged the man. "Ray!" She turned and hugged the young man, who was almost as tall as Professor Steele and a couple of inches taller than Aeryn.

  "Great-grandfather," the man said to Dumbledore.

  Harry watched as Professor Steele stiffened and Snape strode over to the man.

  "It seems as if you have family crawling out of the woodwork, Albus," McGonagall said.

  Dumbledore chuckled. "They're here to help," he said to the Transfiguration teacher before turning to the strange man. "Were there many other of those... What did you call them, Aeryn?"

  "_Yrch_." Aeryn wrinkled her nose.

  "Yes, there were, and they are now gone, but the damage...." said the older stranger. Harry watched him as he came closer to the bed. The man looked a lot like Sirius except for his eyes. They were the same blue as the Headmaster's. As he looked the man seemed to notice where they were. "How about we let these boys get some rest, no?"

  "I agree, Michel," Professor Steele said.

  Harry could have sworn that he heard Aeryn mutter, "A miracle! They agree on something." The group left him with only Dumbledore and Malfoy in the infirmary.

  "Harry," the Headmaster began. "Get some rest today. Walking through dreams can drain you of energy."

  "A shadowwalker?" Harry asked. "I don't understand."

  Dumbledore shook his head. "It will be explained tonight." He gave a small nod and smile to him before walking over to Malfoy's bed. "Mr. Malfoy?"

  Harry watched as Draco gave a small nod of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything. This was a first for him to see. The blond boy was very outspoken, even to the teachers. Something seemed wrong with the picture, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was for the moment.

  "Harry?" Ron's whispered voice barely reached his ears.

  Turning his head, he found his two best friends standing by the door. A smile crossed Harry's face at the sight, glad for some company now that he didn't feel quite so sleepy. "Hi."

  Both of them shifted uncomfortably for a couple of seconds before Hermione spoke. "Do you want us to stay here? For the holiday, we mean."

  Harry looked at them. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest at the thought that his friends were willing to give up their holiday plans for him. But he couldn't let them do it. He wanted them to have fun.

  Shaking his head, Harry eyed each of them. "No. Go be with your families." Hermione opened her mouth. "I mean it. Besides, Madame Pomfrey wants to keep me here another day or so." He gave a slightly disgusted look, making Ron burst into quiet laughter before a "shush!" came from the office to the right.

  They talked in hushed voices for a couple more minutes before Professor Dumbledore walked over to them. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, are you going to join us for the holiday?"

  Ron shook his head. "No, sir. Harry wants me to get pictures."

  A twinkle shone in the Headmaster's eyes for a quick second before it was hidden. "I see. Well, you'd better get your things together. The carriages will leave for the train shortly." He turned and left the infirmary. Ron and Hermione soon followed, leaving Harry to his thoughts until sleep returned.

******

  Harry looked up and down the table, trying to see everybody's reactions to him were. From the scowl on Snape's face he wasn't exactly wanted here, but everybody else wasn't paying much attention. Three other students were here as well: a very quiet Draco Malfoy and two fifth year Hufflepuffs. The Slytherin hadn't said one word to him all evening, and only a couple to Aeryn, who was sitting next to him. Snape couldn't even seem to drag a word out of him.

  As soon as the dishes were emptied, Dumbledore stood up. A large smile was on his face as he looked over the table. "I see that the holiday is off to a great start," he said. "And I am pleased to say that this year has gone very good so far.

  "Some of you have noticed the new faces at the table tonight," he smiled. Harry saw his eyes were twinkling madly, as if he knew a secret and couldn't wait for everybody to cheer when it came out. "As many of you know, Aeryn Negre filled in these last couple of days for Professor Steele as a favor to me. I am also pleased to introduce her again, but this time as my great-great-granddaughter."

  Aeryn rose, an embarrassed flush spreading across her thin cheeks, giving a rosy glow to her skin. 'Down Harry.' He looked at Draco, who hadn't even noticed this.

  "Also," Dumbledore continued. "I have two others to introduce. First is my great-grandson, Michel Negre, and my great-great-grandson, Raymund Negre."

  The two strangers from before stood and were much more imposing than Aeryn. Harry studied Raymund for a moment. He was around five years younger than the substitute DADA teacher, and looked much more like their father than she did.

  The teachers started chattering excitedly and began to mill about the hall to talk to the newest people to arrive. Harry watched Draco carefully as he seemed to pull out of his reverie when Aeryn left his side. Then the blond looked slightly panicked. Taking a deep breath, he made a decision.

  Standing, Harry made his way to where Draco was sitting. The other boy's eyes looked at him in surprise and confusion before becoming blank.

  "What do you want?" Draco asked in a rough, quiet voice.

  "Why didn't you go home?" Harry asked in a curious tone.

  Draco gave a slight snort and looked around the room. "What home?"

  Harry didn't know how to respond. He couldn't answer that question at that moment himself. An uncomfortable silence fell between them before he thought of something.

  "Who do you think you'll get for the gift exchange?"

  Light grey eyes bored into him for a quick second before they fell to his hands as they lay in his lap. Draco shrugged and licked his lips nervously before quieting once more. Not sure what to make of it, Harry looked around the room. He spotted Snape, who sat in a corner with his usual sneer on his face. Hiding his study, he was surprised to see something other than Snape's regular disdain flash across the face of the Potions teacher as laughter floated through the air.

  He almost missed the laughter as the person doing so sat next to him.

  "So, Harry," Aeryn said as she made herself comfortable in the next spot on the large bench. "Ready to pick names?" She leaned in close and whispered, "I don't know about you, but I don't want to get Mr. Grouchy over there."

  Harry and Draco looked at her in surprise as a gamine smile spread across her lips. This was something quite new in terms of a teacher confiding in students like this. Even so, both found themselves smiling at her as she gave a cheeky wave to the Potions teacher. Snape glowered at her for a sharp moment with a look that would have paralyzed the two boys, but the woman next to them playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

  "What is that?" Draco broke the silence surrounding him with the question.

  Aeryn's eyes lit up. "Very good question," she said with another smile. She leaned over in a confiding matter. "I know it's not very professional of me but I like it."

  Harry looked at her again. She was very confusing but very likable. Over the last couple of years he had come to trust his instincts about people, the first one he felt about them, and to go with that. The last couple of years had taught him the lesson to go with his initial feeling well enough. He knew instinctively that she was one of the few people he could trust with his life in this room. Harry didn't feel comfortable with some of the teachers, but he knew he could trust her. Maybe it was the way she had looked under the influence of the age potion, but more than likely it was the way she held herself. It reminded him very much of the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

  Besides, earlier in the evening he had talked with Professor Dumbledore about what had happened. The Headmaster had told him that his wife had also been a shadowwalker, a fact that had given him more pain than he would tell Harry. Even so, he had seen it for a brief second in the pale blue eyes, but wouldn't bring it up again. Dumbledore had gone on to say that a shadowwalker could take a person to the place they wanted to go to or were pulled by somebody else by traveling through shadows. The walker and walkee (Harry had laughed at this expression) would stay in the shadow of anything, be it an object or person, but more often another person.

  It was usually safest to do when the walkee was asleep, as their subconscious knew enough not to get involved in what was going on. If they were awake there was a large chance that the walker and walkee would get separated if the walkee left the shadow, leaving their body back in the starting place. It also left the walker vulnerable to attack from the walkee themselves. When Harry had passed out the day before, they had been unable to wake him. He had an inkling that Dumbledore suspected that Voldemort was trying to do something, but he wasn't quite sure exactly what it was.

  Harry had seen a shadow pass over Dumbledore's face as he continued talking. All he had heard up to this point was that he had been married when he was much younger, but nobody had known if he had any children. His wife had died at a young age, leaving him in his single state up to the present. Now he knew that some of it was true with the appearance of the Negres.

  "Harry?"

  He snapped back to the present when he heard his name called in confusion.

  "Potter, pay attention." Harry raised an eyebrow as Draco added his two knuts to the conversation. He looked at the blond boy before turning to the woman next to him.

  "Yes?"

  Aeryn gave a funny little smile. "I was just asking you if you noticed how much my dad and your..." She stopped when Draco became interested in the question. "Never mind. I'm imagining things."

  Harry gave what she *had* said careful thought. Suddenly it came to him what she had been asking. Her father and Sirius did look an awful lot alike now that he thought about it.

  He got no further as Professor Dumbledore went to stand up on the small raised platform where the teacher's table stood during regular school time. Harry saw the twinkle in his eye as the Headmaster waited until everybody stopped talking.

  "Since we've such a small group here for the holiday this year, I decided to come up with a little gift exchange I read about in one of the newspapers. I've heard it is quite popular in the States," here he shot a twinkle to somebody, but Harry wasn't sure who, "and we don't want to be thought behind them."

  He indicated a large purple box with gold lines running along the sides. "In this box I have placed the names of all those here. Each person will pull a name out of it and get a gift for that person." Dumbledore chuckled. "It doesn't have to be big or expensive, but please consider who they are when choosing."

  Harry felt a chill run down his spine as the thought of getting Snape ran through his brain again. 'Anybody but Snape,' he thought, as he waited in line behind Draco.

  The blond reached into the box and stopped when he read the name. Harry saw him stiffen for a second before his body language shouted for anybody to stay away. Green eyes narrowed in something like concern as he watched him step over to the side.

  Shaking the feeling off, he reached into the box. 'Not Snape, not Snape, not Snape.' A piece of parchment brushed his fingers and he scrambled madly to pull it out. Crumpling it up in his fist he strode away from the box and those who had gathered around it. Making sure no one saw him, he carefully pulled open the scrunched edges and breathed a sigh of relief before he choked on it.

  'Draco Malfoy.'

  Harry stiffened. A small part of him jumped in joy that it wasn't Snape, but the larger part was setting up a wonderfully huge tirade about the injustice of getting the Slytherin boy. He sighed as he thought about it, though. In the ten minutes he had sat next to Draco this evening, he had learned something new about the blond boy. The Slytherin hadn't once insulted him or said anything about his friends. Harry wondered if this had anything to do about his father's capture as a Death Eater.

  He realized he was probably right, but only partially. Harry looked across the room and saw that Draco had returned to his seat, sitting sullenly on the sofa-like bench. Well, he would have to think of something, but he would do so in the morning.


	5. Christmas Cheer

******

Chapter 5

Christmas Cheer

Disclaimer: I don't own the lovely boys and girls of Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. Ugh, what I wouldn't give to be her (but only for a day). ^_^

AN: Two chapters at once! (This and chapter 6). What a bonus! Well, not really. I have up to chapter 14 written, but I've been going back through what I have so far to see if I've missed something. It just depends on how fast I can check for mistakes. ^_^

Thanks to Phoenix and aqualaria! I really appreciate the comments (make me feel all warm and fuzzy!)

******

  Christmas dawned with a soft light coming through the window. A bleary green eye opened as a ray of golden red peeked through the slightly open curtain around his bed. Harry's mind drew a blank for a moment as he groped for his glasses.

  Seeing the pile of presents at the end of his bed, the day clicked in his brain. A sad feeling crept over him when he realized that nobody was here to share the wonder of opening the gifts. For the first Christmas Ron wouldn't be here. He had sent his friend's present with Ginny, and Ginny's with Ron to make sure that they got it but couldn't peek. Harry had sent Hedwig off with Hermione's yesterday, and his owl had returned with a present attached to her leg from his friend. He shook off the maudlin thoughts this brought up and reached into the pile, grabbing Ron's present.

  Ripping the paper off, he discovered a curious little globe that gave a soft glow. Harry picked up the card attached.

_Harry-_

_This is a Roam Globe - the equivalent of a snow globe (at least this is what Hermione told me). Look at it for a couple of seconds and you'll see a place you want to go see._

_Happy Christmas!_

_Ron_

  With a wide smile on his face, Harry peered into the globe. The glow became brighter for a split second before showing the Burrow, snow falling gently to the ground as a poof of smoke came from one of the bedrooms. He laughed as he realized that it was the twins' bedroom. He was sad for a second as he wished he was there. Harry knew he was safe here, but he still wanted to be with his friends today.

  Sighing silently, he opened Hermione's gift and found a book. 'Typical Hermione,' he thought as he looked at the plain, black cover. Nothing marred the surface, intriguing him. Harry opened the cover and found faint letters on the first page. Also inside was a note to him.

_Harry,_

_I know you must think I'm crazy for sending you a book, but I thought you would like this. It's a book on curses and counter-curses, but they're a lot harder than what we've been taught in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I talked with Professor Steele, and she said that she would be willing to teach what she could out of this book if you wanted her to._

_Make sure that you don't go anywhere without a teacher and Happy Christmas,_

_Hermione_

  Harry shook his head. He should have known that she would say something like that. Still, he would look through the book before talking to the DADA teacher about it.

  Opening his other presents he found a large batch of fudge and a pullover from Mrs. Weasley. He wondered if Ron was fussing about his maroon pullover as he pulled the green jersey over his head. Eating a piece of fudge, he opened the present from his godfather and found a large assortment of sweets from Honeydukes. The letter inside was what counted as Sirius said that he and Remus Lupin would be back the day before New Year's to see him. Harry read between the lines and guessed they would have another meeting with the rest of those in their group. He got the usual treacle tarts from Hagrid, who never noticed they were hard as rocks. From Remus he got a picture of his dad and mum from when they had been in school. He had gotten it from somebody - he couldn't say who - who had known them in school. The two were laughing madly as they stood under a piece of mistletoe, and as he watched they gave each other a happy kiss. Harry reached over and grabbed the album that always rested in his nightstand and carefully placed this picture in it after taking one last glance at the cheerfully waving pair.

  He went to sweep aside the wrappings when he noticed a little present lying almost unnoticed at the foot of the bed. The soft gray-colored wrapping glistened as it hit the weak sunshine coming through the window, giving it a silver sheen. Curious, Harry pulled the paper off to reveal a small crystal hanging from a silver chain. He couldn't think of where he had seen something like this before, but he was sure it'd come to him.

_Harry-_

_Please wear this at all times. The crystal will warn you when danger approaches (but not necessarily of big things).* DO NOT TAKE IT OFF!*_

_AeN_

  Harry looked at the elegant script on the parchment again. He wondered why she had sent such a thing. Still, he trusted her enough and put it on.

******

  The Great Hall was splendously decorated as the trees sparkled and shimmered under what seemed to be thousands of fairies. The teachers were dressed for the occasion, making Harry glad that he had gotten new dress robes earlier this year since he had grown out of his old ones from fourth year. Looking around, he spotted Draco off to one side, sipping a glass of punch as he watched some of the teachers mingle. He looked at Dumbledore, who, for one of the few times since Voldemort had risen the second time, looked totally relaxed. He had told everybody he wanted them to relax, since it was starting to look like the next battle would be coming soon.

  The evening they had drawn names Harry had fallen asleep rather quickly when he had gotten to bed. He had been exhausted by the events of the last couple of days, enough that Madame Pomfrey had wanted him to stay another night in the infirmary. Instead he had shaken her off and trudged back to the empty Gryffindor tower. That night he'd had a strange dream in which he was flying without his Firebolt. It had seemed strange at first, but he had grown to like the feeling as he soared about the grounds around the school. The sound of sobbing had caught his ear and he had flown towards it. As he did so, he recognized Draco as he curled around himself at the base of a tree leading into the Forbidden Forest. In his hands lay a crumpled piece of paper, twisted and ragged as he held it loosely. Harry stepped towards him but the other boy didn't notice him.

  The piece of paper fell to the ground as Draco curled up into a ball, turning to the other side as his body shivered. Something flowed over Harry then, but he wasn't sure what it was. He was confused at the concern he felt for his enemy.

  'Is he really my enemy?' a little voice asked.

  He didn't know how to answer that. Instead, he bent down and picked up the paper and smoothed it out with one hand. He started to read, eyes growing wider at the words written. Harry got to the bottom when he felt he was being watched. Looking down, he found that Draco was no longer there. In his place lay a small cat-like creature that began to rub against Harry's ankles.

  He picked it up and it started to purr in his arms. The small creature nuzzled against his neck, the small, wet nose cold against his warm skin. Harry was startled when it disappeared, leaving his arms empty and held out from his body. Self-consciously he moved them to his side before he noticed something around his neck. Nimble fingers rubbed the skin where the animal had rubbed, finding a finely wrought chain with something dangling on the end.

  At that point he had woken up, sweat dripping down wet hair into his eyes. Harry's chest had felt on fire for a second before his breathing settled into a more normal pattern. He quickly wrote down what the paper had said in his dream before he forgot it, and was astonished at what it said. Reading it in the cold light of day, he had become inspired for the gift he was to give.

  Now, as he walked over to the single, large round table in the center of the Great Hall, he was nervous, waiting for Draco's reaction. He also wondered who had gotten him, and once again the spectre of Snape floated around his brain. It would be just his luck that the Potions teacher had drawn his name.

  "Hi, Harry." He turned to see Aeryn beside him, a small animal in her arms. The creature's coat was a smoky-blue color, the shiny fur glowing as she softly stroked it.

  He could feel his eyes get round when it hit him that this was the creature from his dream. Looking up at her, he saw a twinkle in her eye as she turned to look at the rest of those gathered. "This is a kneazel," she said in a soft voice. "They can sense when you are surrounded by friends and by enemies. When they purr, you're around someone that has good feelings towards you, but they will defend you if someone is threatening you."

  Harry looked at her again.

  "Her name is Circe," Aeryn said as she held the kneazel towards Harry. "Would you like to hold her?"

  Not really sure, he hesitated. Suddenly his arms were full as the kneazel squirmed in his arms, settling into a comfortable position around his shoulders. Harry could feel a rumbling sensation across his skin as Aeryn quietly laughed.

  "She really likes you, Harry," she said. "You are one of three people she will do that to."

  Harry caught the twinkle in her eye again. "Me... and you?" he asked.

  Aeryn nodded. "And your Headmaster." She chuckled. "Circe feels totally relaxed around you. She doesn't even do that to Dad and my siblings. I read somewhere that it's a sign of total trust between the owner and the other person."

  Harry opened his mouth to ask a question when Dumbledore requested everyone to find the seats with their names in front of. Walking over to the table, he felt like he was wearing some fur scarf as Circe nuzzled his neck. Finding his spot, he sat down across from Draco. The blond boy lifted one pale eyebrow in question, but didn't say anything.

  He cringed when the seat to the right of him was pulled out. Christmas was not going to be fun when he saw that Snape had to sit next to him. The Potions Master gave a snarl to him and then ignored him. Well, that hadn't been so bad, but Harry wasn't going to let himself hope any more than he had.

  He sensed, more than saw, Snape get stiff when Aeryn sat to Draco's left.

  'When did I start thinking of Malfoy as being Draco?' He suddenly realized that he had been calling him by Draco for several days now, even in their brief conversations.

  "Happy Christmas, Draco. Harry," Aeryn said. Harry saw her eyes twinkling again as she looked directly at Snape. "Happy Christmas, Severus."

  The Potions Master threw his hardest glare at the woman, who gave a wide smile in response. Privately Harry wondered if the ability to throw Snape off his stride was hereditary. Snape seemed to be as speechless as he was when Professor Steele tossed something, seemingly mild-mannered, at him. He hid his laughter at that, but saw Draco's shoulders start shaking, as if he, too, found it funny.

  Harry ignored Snape, just as Snape paid no attention to anybody else. He found he was enjoying himself much more than he had thought, as he talked to both Draco and Aeryn. She told them a funny story that had happened to her when she had been in school in the US when one of her roommates decided they should study in the library one night. She and her three friends had almost been caught in the Restricted Section, but had led their caretaker on a merry chase all over the campus.

  Draco had actually offered a story about one of the Slytherin Quidditch team practices, when his old captain, Marcus Flint, had gotten ambushed by the Weasley twins. Harry could believe that Fred and George had done something like that. Only because Ron'd had to learn how the twins thought had the three of them avoided walking into one of their traps or pranks.

  Soon the food disappeared from the table and everyone looked expectantly at Dumbledore. The Headmaster stood, his long beard and hair shining in the soft light overhead as some of the fairies seemed to scatter. Harry saw the familiar twinkle in his eyes that he had seen so often the last couple of days and was truly happy for the first time since he had opened his presents this morning.

  "I hope that everybody is sufficiently stuffed from this wonderful feast," Dumbledore began. "Now, I'm sure that you all are anxious to exchange gifts. You are to guess who got you the gift you get." Another happy twinkle crossed his eyes as he sat down and the gifts from under the tree floated to each person.

  Harry gazed down at the package he had gotten. The paper was a soft yellow with faint red streaks through it. As he watched a small golden globe appeared and started to move across the paper, the rest of it changing to the color the sky was at mid-summer. He quickly looked at the others around him and his breath hitched when he realized that Snape had gotten a package wrapped in the same paper he had received his pendant in. Green eyes were met with twinkling blue-green ones before they lowered back to their respective gifts.

  Opening it carefully, he discovered that it was a small box made of glass like one of the windows in the Great Hall. Nestled inside was a small package of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. He looked at the ink and saw that it was made just for him, and that it would write in whatever color his mood indicated. Harry stared at it for a moment. As far as he knew, the ink would have to have something of his to make it. He remembered that much from potions. 

  It was a little unsettling to know that one of the people here had something of his. Whatever it was was buried deep in the bottle, more likely a strand of hair, but it was distressing to say the least. Yet, at the same time, he realized how much work this was. Whoever had given him this had put a lot of thought into it, even if they didn't know it was very special to him since he liked to write - a lot. Just the week before Hermione had teased him that instead of playing Quidditch he should write a book about it.

  A soft gasp reached his ears from across the table and he looked up into Draco's confused eyes. The boy was holding the small, delicately cut crystal dragon that Harry had gotten him with shaking hands.

  His thoughts shot back to the shop where he had found it in Hogsmeade. At first glance the figurine had seemed Muggle-made until it had curled up in his hands when he had picked it up. The letter that he had read in his dream had addressed Draco as 'My dearest little dragon.' It had been written in a feminine hand, and Harry knew it had been from his mother.

  Grey eyes looked wildly around the table before they met concerned green eyes. Draco's face lit up for a second before he looked down at the dragon, which had spread its glass wings. They reflected and refracted the light from the fairies, throwing the table into a dream-like relief.

  Somehow Harry knew that the other boy wouldn't look up again for a while and he looked next to him to see what Aeryn had gotten. A pleased look on her face let him know that she was happy with the small book on potions she had gotten. She was already avidly reading the little book, flipping through the various pages.

  He turned his attention to the man beside him and was astonished by the bewildered look on his face. In his hands lay a sheaf of paper that moved ever so slightly, as if he were trembling. Harry stared at him for another minute before Snape seemed to collect himself and his eyes scanned the table. Harry dropped his eyes as Snape looked at him but raised them when he felt like the man was far past him down the table. He wasn't quite sure if he saw it, but it looked, to him, like Snape was actually happy.

  Curiosity filled him before he remembered that he had to figure out who had gotten him his gift. He was looking at each of the teachers out of the corner of his eyes, trying to decide who had given it to him when a sudden thought came to him. Hermione had said that bit about his writing when they had been in the infirmary that last day before she and Ron had left for the holiday. At that time only Dumbledore and Draco had been there that was now in this room. An idea raced through his head as Harry thought why the table was so curiously matched. He knew that Aeryn had given Snape his present from her subtle reaction, and he was placed across from Draco, whose name Harry had pulled.

  Harry looked up at Dumbledore and gave him a quick smile. The pale blue eyes set in his face twinkled merrily back at him. Now he knew that it had to have been Draco who had gotten him his present, and he felt awed at it. In the back of his mind he knew that they weren't quite friends yet, but he knew he wanted to be. They had fought for far too long, and it also looked like Draco would need friends in the upcoming months. The hardest task would be to convince Ron and Hermione of the same thing.

  Dumbledore stood again. "Now it's time to see who got you these wonderful gifts," he said in a cheery voice. "I suggest you look across the table and find your exchange partner."

  Harry looked over at Draco and found the blond's mouth open in astonishment. He smiled at the other boy, a soft smile of appreciation. "Thank you, Draco."

  Draco closed his mouth and swallowed hard enough that Harry could see it. A slight tint of pink painted his cheeks as he nodded at Harry. "Po... Harry, thank you."

  A gasp pulled them from their stuttering thanks. Next to Draco Aeryn was holding her stomach, an anxious look on her face as she thanked Snape for the book. Both boys looked at the Potions Master and found a strange look on his face before it closed up. Harry's heart fell as he felt Snape harden himself against the present he had gotten. He abruptly stood, jarring Harry in the process. Circe, disturbed from her perch, hopped across the table to Aeryn, where she assumed the same position she had held on Harry's shoulders.

  Harry watched Snape stalk from the Great Hall, leaving a heavy silence in his wake. He turned to Aeryn and saw shining eyes as she tried not to cry. He felt everybody's eyes move to where the three of them now sat before a quiet murmuring again filled the large room.

  "I thought he'd like it," he heard Aeryn quietly say.

  "Aeryn?" Draco's question pulled both her and Harry from each other. "What did you get him?"

  "I..." she hesitated and took a deep breath. "It's maps to various libraries in and out of Europe where they have the best potions sections."

  Harry turned to Draco, who looked as confused as he felt. Why would knowing that he got the present from Aeryn make him react like that?


	6. The Meaning of Dreams

******

Chapter 6

The Meaning of Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I sure would like to own Seamus. ^_^

AN:  Aeryn will be showing up much more frequently as the story goes further. I'm trying to keep her from being a Mary-Sue, but as I'm new to this genre, the definition went in one ear and out the other (I think). If she does, I'm sorry. I tried!

******

  Harry groaned as Marty jumped on his back, giggling madly. He wasn't sure how he'd been roped into this, but when he found out who had done it he would make sure to hex them. The little girl was still on a happy high from the excitement of Christmas, insisting that Harry play with all the toys she had gotten. She was very happy with the little toy Harry had picked up when he had gone to visit the village, and every once in a while would hug him before going back to play.

  He wondered who had been watching her three nights ago. He hadn't noticed if any of the teachers were missing, especially from the group. Black brows furrowed in thought as Marty went racing madly after the small snitch Harry had gotten her around the room. She seemed to think it was great fun that it would shoot right out of her reach as she chased it.

  Harry wanted to solve that mystery and also the one about Snape. The Potions teacher hadn't shown up for breakfast that first morning and neither had Aeryn. He had asked Professor Steele if anything was wrong with her sister, but she had told him that Aeryn had eaten earlier and had hidden herself in the library. Neither of them had shown up for any meals since then, although he had seen Aeryn once walking out on the grounds. Nothing had been seen of Snape, and even Harry could tell that Dumbledore was worried.

  Hmph. Just when he had thought Snape was human enough to show he liked something he had to go and do this. Harry had stayed by Draco and Aeryn the rest of the night, feeling that they were both in a delicate balance of nerves. He wondered why and how he knew that, but he wanted to be there for them when countless others had been next to him in the years since he had first come to Hogwarts.

  Last year he had found out that he had a fiercely protective side of what he cared about. When he had learned that Ron had taken off, Harry had been distraught by the news. Ron was his brother, friend, and confidante. He wouldn't be able to do anything if he couldn't find him. A shudder ran through him as he remembered the cold anger that had swept over him when he found the clues. That anger had mostly been directed at himself. He had immersed himself in a huge wallowing pit of self-disgust, ignoring his two friends to the point where he had barely seemed to recognize them.

  The betrayal of the DADA teacher in their fifth year had been so overwhelming to Harry. Added on top of that was the guilt he felt at Cedric's death from the year before. True, the nightmares were starting to taper off two years after the fact, but he hadn't wanted to burden his friends. Maybe he should have.

  He wasn't sure what had made him look in the forest. Harry was still not too sure that he had been thinking at all. All that had driven him to the spot where he had seen that unicorn his first year was a burning sense of insanity if Ron was hurt in any way. He certainly hadn't been thinking rationally, otherwise he wouldn't have found himself surrounded by Death Eaters.

  Almost by instinct he had known that Lucius Malfoy was not one of them. These were lesser Death Eaters, sent to lure him away from the school to the presence of their Dark Lord and the inner circle of his followers. In the arms of two of them lay Ron, hair darkened and matted by dried blood and eyes closed with pale lids.

  Rage had filled him, the self-righteous rage of wanting to madly defend his friend. He wanted to hurt these people like they had Ron, when all of a sudden something sparked inside him. Suddenly he knew that this wasn't the way he should fight. If he fought like he felt he would be just as dark as the Death Eaters were. In a split second he had been overwhelmed with remorse, his stomach threatening to turn itself over as a thousand emotions swirled inside of him. When the moment was over, however, Harry knew that he would fight like Dumbledore had taught him and all his teachers and friends had supported.

  Harry turned his attention back to Marty, who lay on her stomach rolling one of her Muggle dolls through the air. Even now he didn't know what he had done. After that, though, Dumbledore had insisted that he be given extra training by some of the teachers to harness his own power.

  "Harry?" He looked up and saw Professor Steele and Hermione in the door. His friend crossed the room and sat down next to him. "I'm here to watch him for a while."

  He looked at the little girl and then his Professor, then back at Hermione. Harry had been surprised when she had shown up yesterday. It had taken him a long time before he got her to tell him why she had come back early. Even then she would only say that she had come back because the Headmaster requested it.

  Standing, he left Hermione with Marty, who giggled madly as she pulled a book off the small bookcase to the side. Leave it to his friend to reach for a book first. Shaking his head at the thought, Harry made his way to the library. He wanted to look at a couple more things before he showed that book to Professor Steele.

  Making his way through the shelves, he noticed somebody at one of the tables. Curious, he peeked around the corner and found Draco sitting by himself with a book in his hands. The blond head was bent down, not noticing that he was being watched. Harry stood there for another minute when he saw Aeryn making her way to the other boy. Her face had a strained look to it, and it was obvious she hadn't slept very well in many days.

  "This is the last of them that aren't in the Restricted Section, Draco," she said as she laid three books next to him. "Your best bet is to talk with Ray about it, though."

  "Why?" Harry saw him tilt his head in question.

  "His mother's brother is a shaman in her tribe."

  Harry stopped at that and so did Draco.

  "You don't share a mother with your brother?"

  Aeryn shook her head. "Nope. Just my other brother, but he's one of the Unspeakables. Only he and I share the exact same parents."

  Draco's face fell at this.

  "Ray's half Lakota, half English. He learned how to combine the two worlds in the land of dreams, so that's why you should ask him. He's been there many times to get answers to questions himself."

  "Why don't you remember what I saw?" Draco's face was oddly intriguing. There was a half-curious, half-afraid look on it that hit Harry hard. His former enemy was afraid, but of what?

  "I can feel what you do, but not see it. It has to be a strong feeling, too."

  They were both silent and Harry had almost turned back to looking for a book when Draco's next question stopped him in his tracks.

  "Do you hate me for what my father did to your mother?"

  Harry's saw a haunted look form in Aeryn's eyes, even as she shook her head. "No." Her voice was very low; just barely loud enough that Harry could hear it. "It was your father's fault, and partly my mother's as well. She wouldn't listen to anybody, and it got her killed." Aeryn's voice was very bitter at that moment. Harry had heard that emotion many times in his dreams, especially when his parents were in them and he wished things could have been different.

  "You were there," Draco was saying in a pained voice, a slight, breathless swallow coming from him before he continued, "when it happened. I saw it in one of my dreams."

  Harry's chest felt tight. What Draco was saying - it couldn't be true, could it?

  Aeryn nodded and a tear threatened to fall. She tried to smile at Draco but Harry could see that she couldn't offer him comfort. He wished he could do something for the both of them, but wasn't sure what it was. Frustrated at this lack of decision, he stood where he was, going neither forward or back.

  Aeryn sniffled and looked up, straight into Harry's eyes. A watery chuckle came from her as he felt drawn to the table. "Hey, Harry."

  Standing behind a chair, he looked at both of them. "May I?"

  Both Draco and Aeryn nodded.

  Harry eyed them hesitantly. He hadn't meant to interrupt, but when he had seen the sorrow in her eyes he knew he had to come over and talk to them. He dropped a hand to the books. "What are these for?"

  "They are dream books," Draco drawled, just a tiny trace of his usual arrogance of having a superior intelligence showing.

  Harry laughed. "I can read what they are, but why look at them? Bad dreams?"

  "Harry," Aeryn began, "have you been having any dreams since the last day of classes?"

  He nodded. While very strange at first, he had gotten to the point where he almost couldn't wait to fall asleep at night.

  "Hm."

  "Why do you say that?" Draco's grey eyes were questioning as well.

  "Well," Aeryn said. "Only three people that I have ever taken walking have had that same reaction. Two are my former roommates, and the other is El. Those three have developed enormous capabilities for seeing things normal people aren't perceptive to. Even knowing magic like they do."

  "So does that mean that we'll be able to do something with our dreams?" Draco asked.

  Harry watched as Aeryn shook her head. "That I don't know the answer to. I might be able to find the answer in one of these books, but it would take much longer than we have time for."

  "Why haven't you come to any meals?" Harry asked in the silence that followed this.

  She looked up, her nose wrinkling. "A couple of things," she shrugged. It was obvious to Harry that she didn't want to talk about it.

  He opened his mouth to say something when he noticed a man standing behind Aeryn and Draco as they sat at the table with him. His head slightly tilted to one side, but he didn't say anything at all when the stranger put a finger to his lips. The man looked very familiar in the shadows, and when he passed by a window he saw that it was Sirius. He was happy that his godfather was here, but he wasn't supposed to be here until the next day. Still, he was curious to find out.

  Harry looked at the two in front of him. Each looked to be in their own little world, and probably wouldn't even notice his departure. Quietly standing up, he made his way over to where Sirius was standing.

  The two made their way to a different section of the library and sat down.

  "Did you have a good Christmas?" Sirius asked.

  Harry nodded and gave a happy smile. "Thanks for the present."

  "Yours, too." Sirius shook his head. "I'm surprised that you haven't eaten it all by yourself by now."

  He shook his head, too. "No." He carefully eyed his godfather. "I thought you and Professor Lupin weren't coming until tomorrow."

  "Change of plans," Sirius said. "Dumbledore has found out some new information, and we should act on it as soon as we can."

  Harry nodded. Now he had a better idea why Hermione had come back so early. The only thing wrong with that was that she hadn't said anything like this, and had, in fact, refused to state the reason in the first place. It kind of made him wonder what was going on that she wouldn't tell him.

  "Are we still going to have the meeting tomorrow?" he asked.

  Sirius gave him a steady look. "Yes. Dumbledore wants everybody to come back as soon as they can, but he wanted Remus and myself to get back early. There were a couple of things that we wanted to talk about with him without having to worry about the waiting until the meeting was over."

  Harry wavered on asking any thing more until he saw the look on Sirius' face. The older man's face was closed, and he knew that it wasn't a good time to talk any more on the subject. Instead he pointed back to where he had first seen his godfather.

  "What do you think of that?"

  Sirius looked at the two blondes pouring over the books. One eyebrow arched back at Harry in question. "And what do you think of that? Are you willing to put everything you know about Malfoy to the side because you feel sorry for him?"

  Harry shook his head. "It isn't so much a matter of feeling sorry for him. It's more like I *know* what's going on in his head. There's this.... I don't know what to call it, but I get the feeling that its so I can help him understand this whole thing from a different point of view. He's only seen it from his father's eyes, and now that there's a chance that his father will be, or actually is, gone, he's got to find another way to keep going.

  "There's something about all of this that makes me think that Draco never wanted to take part in any of this. All he wanted was to make his father proud of him, enough so that he could feel like he accomplished something in his life. He also wants to protect his mother."

  Harry went silent and kept his eyes on his hands as they lay in his lap. Part of him was afraid that what he said wasn't as true as he thought it was, but somehow he knew it was. Ever since that dream he'd had about the letter from Draco's mother, he had been worried about the other boy. Whatever trouble that they had had before that point was moot. It didn't matter now. There was no time for such things anymore.

  He looked up at his godfather, who wore an astonished look on his face.

  "Harry," he finally said in a slow voice. "Most perceptive of you." Sirius shook his head and gave a soft chuckle. "Very much like your mother in that respect."

  A sheepish look crawled across Harry's face as a pink tint brushed his cheeks. "Sirius."

  His godfather laughed. "Sorry, Harry. It's just that your mother had this uncanny ability to see with a much clearer eye than most people. Although it wasn't until after we had just left school that she really seemed to notice things out of the ordinary."

  Harry thought this over. "The day before classes were finished for the holiday I fainted."

  Sirius leaned forward in surprise, but didn't say anything.

  "While I was out, Professor Dumbledore had Aeryn walk with me to bring me back."

  "Is this the same Aeryn we met at the last meeting?"

  Harry nodded. "Yeah. She was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts that day. It's a good thing too."

  Sirius scowled. "They let a twelve year old teach?"

  "More like a twenty-three year old," a woman's voice came over his shoulder.

  Harry looked up and saw Aeryn smiling down at him and gave a grin back at her. Behind her stood Draco, who was eyeing Sirius with a curious look. She turned around and gave the Slytherin boy a smile. "Draco, could you go bring that last book over? There were a couple of things I wanted to talk to Harry about in that one."

  As soon as he was gone she turned back to them and gave Sirius a look. "You should get going before he gets back."

  Sirius nodded. "I'm off to Dumbledore's office," he whispered to Harry before leaving the library.

  Harry watched as he disappeared around the corner as Draco came back. Aeryn gave a soft smile at him as the blond boy handed her the book.

  "Harry, please read the section I've marked," Aeryn said in a soft voice. "We've already read it. When you're done, please let us know, since you should be there when we ask my sister a couple of things."

  He nodded and looked down at the book before watching them leave the library. Wondering if the slim volume in his hands had any answers to his own questions, he took it up to the tower that was just a little less lonely.

******

  Snape looked disinterestedly at the group as they gathered in Dumbledore's office. What Lupin and Black had to be there for was beyond him that they had to come a day early. He drew his eyes from the Headmaster, who seemed to be admonishing him for the way he had treated that.... He couldn't come up with any good insults for her. Still, he wondered how she had gotten a hold of some of the locations for those libraries. Some of them had been thought to be long gone by now, not having been seen for the last two hundred years.

  Mentally berating himself for letting his thoughts dwell on that, he turned his attention to Dumbledore and whom he was supposed to be having a meeting. Instead it was more like 'meet the family' time. He knew that he would have to say something about this later, but he had to leave. One more minute in the same room as Black and he was not going to be held accountable for his actions.

  Standing abruptly, he ignored Albus' attempts to stop him and headed to the door. Opening the door, he heard the grinding of the gargoyle on the other side and gave the large flat surface a push. A satisfied feeling swept over him as he heard the door slam behind him.

  "I would say something about that being childish, but I know that I would get that thrown right back at me."

  Snape snapped around, his robes billowing slightly in the sharp movement. Black eyes narrowed at the sight of the person he was trying to ignore for the last few days. Trying.... It would have been better if she hadn't kept popping up at odd moments asking for various ingredients.

  "What is it you want this time," he demanded.

  Aeryn gave a smile. "Just wanted to wish you a 'top o' the mornin' to ya!" She gave a little half bow, straightening up to reveal a cheeky expression on her face. "Besides, it was about time for your daily dose of annoyance from me."

  Snape's eyes narrowed. If this was how Dumbledore acted when he was younger, and he truly suspected this was the case, he was surprised that the old man had lived this long. "I suggest you keep your 'daily doses' away from me."

  A silvery laugh floated to him through the corridor. "But I just might have something for you," she said.

  He almost didn't catch the way she said that. The words were softly spoken, in that voice Dumbledore got when he was trying to keep everything going smoothly and jolly when it was headed in a completely different direction. His interest slightly, not more than that, not by any means, piqued by this, he raised one eyebrow at her.

  Sighing, she motioned for him to follow.

  "I'm sorry that you didn't like the present I got you," she said after a minute of silence.

  He looked at her, startled by this admission.

  "Name something else, and I'll see what I can do." She gave him a sideways glance, but he couldn't read what her eyes were saying. Snape didn't say anything until they stopped at a door somewhere along the second floor corridor.

  "Why are we here?"

  "This is where I've been working," Aeryn said. "Surely you haven't thought that I would be loafing around." She arched one dark blond eyebrow at him that forcibly reminded him of Professor Steele. When she did it, though, it wasn't as sharp or violent as when the DADA did it.

  Confused by these thoughts, he allowed himself to be ushered into the room they were standing in front of. Snape blinked as he stepped into a bright, airy room unequaled by most of the rooms in the entire castle. He had never been here before, and he was surprised that Flitwick hadn't claimed it. The Charms Professor was always complaining how gloomy his own classroom was, and how he wished he could find something better.

  "Where are we?" he wanted to know.

  Aeryn gave him a look. "Hogwarts."

  One black eyebrow raised slightly beneath lanky, black hair.

  She lifted one hand. "You know, more of your students would respect you if you used more of your own potions on yourself."

  Snape gave his dirtiest glare. Which didn't work. This girl must have some kind of immunity like the Marauders did when they were in school. "I do use my potions," he said in a starchy, yet dangerous tone.

  Aeryn steadily looked at him. "You ever try a personality potion?"

  Deadlock. For that matter he just wanted to be out of this room. There was something about this - this girl that got underneath his skin in a way that nobody else could. And she didn't seem fazed by one glare right after another. This would take some thinking later on. If he acted interested in whatever fifth-rate potion she had to show him, then he might be able to escape soon.

  "Yo, Earth to Severus Snape."

  He gave another dirty look in her direction, but she wasn't even looking this time. Aeryn had moved over to a large work table with various vials and a cauldron on it.

  "I'm sorry I had to borrow a couple of things, but the Apothecary down in Hogsmeade didn't have some of the things I wanted. Well, they had them, but I wouldn't buy them unless it was time to go to the last resort." She picked up a small vial with a thick goo in it. The pale blue color was transparent, marking it as a detector of some sort. Snape's eye twitched as she picked up a different vial.

  "What is that?" he asked, pointing one long finger at the vial.

  She gave a small smile. "The last of the age potion. Between Granddad, Dad and I, we thought that you should store it with the rest of your private stock."

  "Granddad?" One eyebrow was raised again.

  "Great-great-grandfather was too big of a mouthful for me when I was younger. The name stuck." Aeryn shrugged and Snape watched the elegant movement.

  A scowl crossed his face as he reviewed that mental comment.

  "Anyways," she went on, cutting his thoughts off at a very good point. "It would be best for you to keep this rather then to have me keep it here. This room is too easy to get into when it is not guarded."

  Snape looked at the bottle when she handed it to him. The clear, amber liquid inside had a slight wave to it, as if it were alive in some way. He went to open the bottle when she laid a hand on top of his.

  "Don't smell it. Even the fumes can alter your body by a couple of months, and it is painful to go through." She took her hand away and his felt chilly afterwards.

  Snape looked up and saw that she was studying him carefully.

  "Have you heard of a potion called the Silmaron Potion?" she asked.

  Snape thought carefully. The name was very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard about it. 'When did this day get away from me?' He looked at Aeryn but didn't answer her question.

  "Well, one of the potions in that book you gave me, which I really do like, thanks, gave me the idea that we might be able to use it."

  And he thought that Potter rambled. "The Silmaron is to give the ability to actually walk through shadows without a shadowwalker."

  She nodded. "Yeah. So I was thinking that if I could see what it entailed, we would be able to get close to Voldemort without having to Apperate, because Granddad thinks that he can now sense when somebody does so near him."

  Snape's head shot up. "When was this?"

  Aeryn cocked her head to the left and shrugged her shoulders. "I personally don't know. All I know was that he asked me about my dreams on Boxing Day and the idea about this potion came to me."

  "Let me talk to Albus and see what else he suggests. Even that will be dangerous." Snape looked at her again. Even though she had an appalling personality, she was smart. It took a skilled potions master to produce even part of the age potion he believed she had made. Making a quick decision, he went to leave.

  "Forgetting something?"

  He turned back and saw the vial with the age potion in it. Ignoring the smirk on her face, he grabbed it and stalked down to the dungeons.

AN:  I actually like Snape, in a weird twisted sort of way. It would take a strong man to be a spy to someone who takes pleasure in killing anything that opposed him. Now, if he would only stop being such a git once in a while...


	7. Disorderly Conduct

******

Chapter 7

Disorderly Conduct

Disclaimer: :sob: I don't own Harry, Draco, or anything else in the fantabulous world of JK Rowling. I, unfortunately, own nothing. Well, that's not quite technically true, but I wouldn't call a 17-year old (rusty, beat-up, etc.) car much in the way of assets!

AN:  Sorry that it's taken so long to get this out!  I majorly burned my hand the other day, and it was my left hand... and as I'm left handed—let's just say that I've been a little more whiny than usual. ^^;  Thanks to everybody that's reviewed – it helps keep me sane and happy!

Also, from here on in things are going to get *strange* and weird. (That's due to my odd sense of humor and being blond!) More dreams, odd happenings, and just a little romance waiting in the wings.

******

  Harry waited impatiently for Hermione to walk down to the Great Hall. For once he was awake before her, and had actually finished the work assigned over the break. He should have remembered the homework that Snape had given them before he thought about the man being an actual human Christmas Day.

  "Ready, Harry?" Hermione gave a quick smile.

  "Yes," he said as they went out the portrait hole. "I told Draco that we would sit with him for breakfast, if that's okay with you?"

  She raised an eyebrow. "Draco? Does this have anything to do with his father being taken?"

  Harry shook his head. "Not entirely."

  "Then what is it?"

  "'Mione, have you ever had a dream that came to be true?"

  She looked a little bewildered for a second before shaking her head. "Not that I remember."

  Harry gave her a steady look, stopping just outside the main entry to the Great Hall. "In the last week, five of my dreams have either happened, or they are someone else's memories. And they aren't even remotely connected to Voldemort."

  "What?" Hermione asked in a sharp voice. "How is this possible? Does it have anything to do with your fainting in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

  Harry nodded. "Everything to do with it."

  Hermione looked thoughtful as they continued into the Great Hall and sat down at the small table in the center of the room. "Have you looked in the library?"

  He nodded again. "All three of us looked."

  Her eyebrows lowered in a thoughtful question. "Three?"

  "Well, me..."

  "Aeryn and myself." They looked up to find Draco standing across from them. "Granger. Po - Harry."

  Hermione raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything, choosing to nod instead.

  "'Mione, I think you should be there when we talk to Ray," Harry said as he dug into breakfast.

  "Ray? From the day Ron and I left for holiday? That Ray?"

  Harry nodded. "He's Aeryn's half brother."

  Hermione finished chewing and put her fork down. "Is he related to Professor Dumbledore?"

  Both Harry and Draco nodded. "That family is even more messed up than mine," Draco said in a soft voice.

  She eyed him carefully at this volunteered information, but he was already looking back down at his plate, picking at a slice of bacon. It seemed like he had changed, but she knew enough that it would take more than a week to really see whether or not it was for the better.

  "Good morning!" All three looked up to see Aeryn and Dumbledore walk into the Great Hall. "Here you go, my dear," the Headmaster said as he held a chair out for her.

  "Thank you." She gave a smile at them. "Mmm. A real breakfast. I've missed this the last couple of days."

  Dumbledore gave a smile to them as some of the teachers began to enter the hall. "I didn't expect you to work non-stop on that, Aeryn."

  Harry watched as she shrugged. "I was getting bored."

  Nothing further got said as Snape found his way to the table. Harry felt a snigger trying to work its way to the surface when he saw the only empty chair was between Aeryn and himself. The Potions teacher said nothing as he sat down, choosing to ignore both of his table companions.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Draco's lips turn up into a half smile and the urge to laugh grew stronger. He could feel his shoulders shaking as he tried to control himself. Luckily he was almost done with breakfast and he saw that Hermione was as well.

  As soon as they were outside of the Great Hall, Harry bent over in laughter. He knew that Hermione was wondering what was going on, but he couldn't help himself. Poor Professor Snape, having to sit between Harry and Aeryn. It was almost like a replay of Christmas dinner.

  Holding his side to calm the stitch that lay there, he stood fully erect. A chuckle escaped him as he caught the look Hermione was giving him, but managed to stop with that. "Sorry, 'Mione. It's just that Snape had to sit next to me at the dinner on Christmas, and his gift exchange partner was Aeryn."

  Hermione's brown eyes light up in understanding. "Yes, I can see where that would be a cause of concern for him," she said in a light voice. She looked at him as they walked back to the tower. "What is all this about dreams again?"

  Harry stopped outside the portrait of the fat lady. He wasn't quite sure where to begin, but he would have to find a way to explain what was going on. Besides, Hermione might know where a couple more books on dreams might be in the library. She knew the place the best out of what would be the five of them when Ron got here. He thought that he should know what's going on before anything else happened.

******

  Draco stifled a sigh as he saw the madly chattering group. First of all, he wasn't too sure why he was here in the first place, but that Professor Dumbledore had insisted on his being here. Then, when he had stepped foot in through the doorway, several people had seemed shocked at his appearance. It didn't help that both of Pot - erm, Harry's friends were both here, and there was no way he would speak to him with those two fluttering around him.

  "Is this seat taken?"

  He looked up and saw a head full of red hair and light tinting off glasses. Draco shook his head, but he wasn't too keen on having Percy Weasley sit next to him. Indeed, it seemed as if all the Weasleys were here. Just how many kids did they have anyway?

  "Draco?" A welcome voice in the midst of the talking.

  "Yes?"

  Aeryn grinned at his drawled response. "Tomorrow we're going to set up a couple teams of Quidditch. Want to be on my team?"

  He narrowed his eyes. "Who's already on it?"

  "Anybody under thirty," she grinned.

  Draco gave a quick snort of laughter. "If Po...." He stopped and cleared his throat. "If Harry's going to be playing, he should be seeker."

  Aeryn looked over to where Harry sat before turning back to Draco. "You sure? From what I've heard both of you are fantastic players."

  He nodded.

  "Good. Want to be a Chaser with me?" She gave a goofy grin and leaned over to whisper conspiratorially, "we've got to give these older folks a good run for their money."

  Draco laughed, a true laugh. He didn't notice that half the room was looking at the two of them, or that most of those were astonished by the affection in his actions. Instead, he leaned over and started to discuss plans for the game the following day. At least this was familiar ground in a world that was increasingly strange and difficult. And now he had something to look forward to instead of just the rest of the work to be done over the holiday.

  Dumbledore cleared his throat and the others clamored to find a seat. "I don't have to tell those that come here regularly that we have some new additions to our team. Please take the time to talk to everybody when we have formally discussed everything tonight.

  "Our first order of business is Azkaban. There have been several reports on activity taking place there the last couple of days. Much of it has been to the island, but there is considerably growing traffic starting to leave it as well. This is a sign that something will happen soon, but it is too soon to tell."

  Draco looked around the room and he realized what was going on. Part of him was terrified that someone would push him to the middle of the room and make him confess what he had done. He was also torn about this. It felt like betraying his father, but hadn't he done so to him in the first place? Lucius Malfoy had tried to lay the fault for his actions in his own son's lap, and Draco wasn't about to take that too kindly.

  The dreams that he'd had the last couple of nights had also been eye opening, to say the least. When he had woken up this morning, for the first time ever in his life had he felt what hope was like. Never before had he felt such a strong emotion, and much of it was tied up with those at the school. Some of them were his own Slytherin housemates, but certainly not Crabbe and Goyle. Most of them were from other houses, and many of them teachers Draco had never bothered to consider before. The dreams had also focused on several things, and it had taken him several hours to figure out what some of them were, since according to the books they were actually metaphors.

  In a way he could see that this meeting had already been predicted. Kind of. Anyway, now was not the time to think on it.

  Dumbledore was nodding his head gravely.

  "Severus, how is that potion coming along?"

  Draco watched as Snape shot a look towards him. No, it was directed at Aeryn, who sat beside him.

  "We've managed to come up with a modified version of it, but Ms. Negre still needs to be there as a guide."

  Now Draco could feel the eyes of everybody in his direction. Personally he liked to be in the spotlight. Sometimes it was good, but not with the intense gazes these people had on their faces.

  Aeryn nodded. "Yes. One of the ingredients needed to make it truly self-supporting is impossible to find in Britain. In fact it would take a week to even find a trace amount of the ingredient we need as it is a Class A Good. Until we can find somebody who is willing to sell it without notice from others, the potion we've come up with will have to do. Either way, it's a dangerous way to travel."

  "Indeed," Dumbledore said. "Still, we will have to take what we can."

  Draco kept his eyes on Aeryn as the meeting went on. So that's why she hadn't been at any of the meals. But what were they talking about a different way to travel? He knew, though, that the normal modes of transportation wouldn't work. He paid attention to what was being said through the rest of the meeting.

  "Draco?" He looked over at Aeryn as they others slowly filtered from the room. "Did you want to do some training now or wait until the morning?"

  He thought about it carefully and opened his mouth to speak when Harry and the others came over. "How about in the morning?"

  Aeryn nodded. "Is that okay with everyone that we meet in the morning?"

  Ron was eyeing Draco distrustfully, but for once he didn't blame him. He *was* acting very differently than he was before, but none of the Weasleys were to know that. Only even after a long discussion this afternoon had Ron and Hermione even heard a tenth of what he had spoken to Harry and Aeryn. Even then he was still keeping some things back. They were *too* personal for him to do so.

  Draco watched them leave the room.

  "Harry, can I ask you a quick question?" Aeryn asked before he went through the door.

  "I'll catch up in a minute," the black haired boy said to his friends.

  "Would you be the Seeker?"

  Harry looked at Draco but he didn't back down. "Didn't you want to play it, Draco?"

  One pale blond eyebrow rose in a silent question at his name. "No. You've a better chance against an unknown team."

  "Yes," Aeryn agreed. "Especially when you'll be playing against El. If she wasn't so uptight, she could have been on a professional team."

  Draco's eyes widened at this and saw that Harry's had done the same. All of a sudden Harry nodded. "Then I'll do it."

  Aeryn's smile was contagious and soon all three of them were grinning madly. "Then I'll see you in the morning," she finally said.

  Draco watched her leave, Harry just to the left of him.

  "Is that the only reason you have for me to be Seeker?" Harry asked.

  He was silent for a brief moment. "No. But I do think you have a better chance for this. Even if it is to let off steam."

  "Draco," Harry said, "They'll come around."

  Draco looked into the sincere green eyes that were watching him. Nodding, he slowly made his way to the door where Professor Dumbledore stood waiting for them to leave. "I just hope it's sooner than later."

******

  "Okay, troops," Aeryn said as they gathered in the chilly morning air. "These are the players: Ron Weasley as keeper, Fred Weasley and George Weasley - "

  "Why am I always last?" George chimed in.

  " - as Beaters." Aeryn gave them a sharp look and then stuck her tongue out at them. "Hey, I go by alphabetical order in terms of the positions."

  "Purple?" Harry asked when he saw the shining piece of metal that sat in her tongue. He looked around and noticed that most of the Weasleys hadn't even seen that but for the twins, and they had interested looks on their faces.

  She nodded. "My school colors were purple and gold. Aedyn and I were the Beaters." Blank looks. "My brother."

  Harry nodded.

  "To carry on, the Chasers are Draco Malfoy, me, and Charlie Weasley." She turned to Charlie. "You really want to play that position?"

  He nodded. "Harry's much better at Seeker than I ever was."

  The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

  "Ok. Then Harry's our Seeker." Aeryn turned to where Hermione, Ginny and Percy were huddled together. "I thought that since those three wouldn't play, they could help with strategy."

  She continued on but Harry let his mind drift for a bit as she gave some tips to the twins. Draco shuffled a little uneasily beside him. The blond was out of his element in the family surroundings that seemed to envelop the Weasleys when three or more gathered together. Still, he would make sure that nobody gave Draco grief just because he was a Slytherin. Either that or it was the telling off given to them by their own mother. That might have had something to do with their good behavior at the moment towards Draco. He had to admit that the other boy hadn't said one word to the Weasleys, though.

  "Okay," Aeryn said in a loud voice. "I've found out that, besides El being Seeker, my dad and Sirius are Beaters. Your dad," she pointed at the Weasleys, who were huddled together, "is one of the Chasers. The other two are Arabella and Severus."

  "Snape's playing?" There was a loud chorus of dismayed gasps at that.

  Aeryn nodded. "Yep. Unfortunately yes. Smart man, but terrible manners." She was shaking her head in mock disappointment. "Still, we've got to prove to them that we are better than they are. Just because we're younger doesn't mean they're smarter than we are."

  Ginny nodded at Hermione and Percy. "Especially with these two getting together plays."

  Aeryn looked at each of them. "Let's get some practice flying together before we start doing any specific play, okay?" She grabbed her broom, which was greeted with delight.

  "A Firebolt?" Ron asked, his blue eyes shining.

  "Yes. I saved for this baby for three years," she said, petting it lovingly. "I almost bought this really neat cauldron, but this was much better."

  "A cauldron?" Draco asked. Harry looked at him. This was the first time he had actually spoken since they had gotten together this morning.

  "That's my sister, the geek."

  "Aedyn!" Aeryn took off at a run towards a very tall, blond haired man who was holding hands with Martin, Raymund just behind them. She jumped up on him and he let go of the little boy's hand.

  Harry found himself on the ground after a tackle by Martin. "Harry! Harry!"

  Draco laughed and soon the others were joining in.

  Struggling to stand, Harry grabbed a hold of one of Ron's hands when it became clear the little boy wouldn't let go. He looked over and found Aedyn carrying Aeryn on his back, piggy-back style. He watched as Charlie went over to them and talked in a low voice.

  "You sure, Charlie?" Aeryn asked.

  The eldest Weasley present nodded his head. "I have the feeling that Dad could beat me at being Chaser, anyway."

  "Okay, then." Aeryn hopped down. "Change of plans. The three Chasers are now Draco, Aedyn, and myself."

  Five minutes later Harry felt on top of the world. Up here on his broom he could escape the increasing pressures put on him by Voldemort. And, he could see, that this team was very well put together. In the back of his mind he wondered what house Aeryn would have been put in if she had come here instead of in the US or any of the others at that.

  Half an hour later Harry was amazed by how many different plays Hermione and Percy had come up with in an hour. Quick sketches outlined many of them, which he later found were drawn by Ginny. Flashing a quick smile in her direction as he passed, he swooped down to where Ron was guarding the goal.

  "This is going to be good," he said as Aeryn and Aedyn were explaining something to Draco.

  Ron nodded. "Yeah. Man, two sets of twins on this team is too many."

  Harry laughed. "But that's a good advantage, and I think that's what Aeryn is playing up to. And the other team may not realize that Aedyn's here."

  Ron shook his head. "Their names are what get me. One letter makes all the difference."

  "Harry! Ron!" Aeryn was waving them over. She was sitting quite casually on her broom, leafing through the hurriedly put together playbook. "Please take a look at this and find a play you would like to practice." She gave a stern look at Harry. "And there are a couple I want you to play particular attention to, Harry." She handed them the book and gave a signal to Aedyn. Together the two darted back and forth, almost playing like one person.

  Draco hovered to the side, and awed expression on his face. Harry leaned over to him once he was finished looking at the book. "Fred and George do that as well." He pointed out the two red heads as they swiftly raced across the pitch swinging their bats.

  The blond nodded in a stunned fashion. "I know. It's just that I saw this in one of my dreams last night. But I was supposed to do something."

  "Then do it," Harry said.

  Draco glanced at him before nodding. "I think I will."

  Ron was still looking at the playbook, so Harry watched the Chasers as they zoomed back on forth on their brooms, tossing the Quaffle in an almost leisurely way. It looked quite effortless, but he knew that all three were experienced Quidditch players. He just hoped that he was up to Professor Steele's level of playing.

  Three hours later and he felt like he was. The DADA teacher was very skilled, but she didn't have a Firebolt. Only Aeryn and he did. Still, he watched the rest of the game like a hawk at the same time he scoped out the pitch for any sign of the Snitch. He saw a signal from Aeryn and he swooped down next to her and she gave him another signal. Shooting straight up, he twirled around and found Professor Steele on his tail, thinking that he had seen the Snitch. He tilted his broom to the ground and shot down at a steep rate of speed before zigzagging to the right.

  The DADA teacher looked a little lost when it looked like Harry had lost the Snitch.

  Suddenly Professor Dumbledore blew the whistle, Madam Hooch being the keeper for the team with the older members of the group. "Penalty shot to the 'youngens.'"

  Harry looked around and saw Aeryn and Snape eyeing each other balefully. His captain was breathing heavily and her face was starting to purple around the left eye. He had missed that collision with his little maneuver.

  As Aedyn took a shot (and scored) he saw the Snitch. It was just behind Professor Steele, who hadn't noticed it yet. Diving down below her, he shot straight up again and reached out for the Snitch. His fingers had just touched it when a bludger shot out of nowhere and knocked him off balance. Hand instinctively holding on for dear life to the Snitch, Harry tried to hold on with his other but couldn't.

  A sudden rush of air whistled in his ears before he landed on a soft cushion. Opening eyes that had shut in panic, he found that he was squishing Draco, half a foot off the ground on the blond's broom.

  "Are you all right?" Aeryn's shaky voice came from the left.

  Harry nodded enthusiastically and raised the Snitch. "I caught it."

  She gave a wide, tremulous smile. "Great job!" She gave him a quick kiss and hug, then did the same to Draco. Both of them went still with the shock as the Weasley twins swooped down.

  "Hey! Where's our hugs?" Harry watched the others come and congratulate him on catching the Snitch, but he noticed that Snape didn't join in until Dumbledore brought him over. Even then the Potions teacher did nothing except stare - at what Harry wasn't exactly sure.

  He was still riding the high from the excellent game when they entered the castle. When he did, though, he felt a chill run down his spine. Harry looked out at the Quidditch pitch and saw a fog was starting to roll in. The chill increased as his forehead grew warm.

  "Harry?" He looked over at Ron, who was watching him in concern.

  He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just a little excited."

  "Good."

******

AN2:  If anybody is squicked by the thought of a pierced tongue, sorry...  One of my friends has one and it fascinates me to no end. And the fact that my dentist is also one of my *best* friends (who threatened me with death when I mentioned its coolness) I will probably never get it done. Besides, I could almost see Dumbledore doing something like that (if he was in his early twenties!), so why not one of his descendents?


	8. The Dementor's Ball

******

Chapter 8

The Dementor's Ball

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns these loverly boys and girls. I weep as I bow to her throne.

AN: I just noticed how much I've let this story move from my plot! Argh! This chapter will get back to it, and pretty quick, too. Please bear in mind that I'm a blond (and no, none of the characters in this story are really me in disguise) and I get sidetracked easily. (Very easy if it involves a lot of chocolate and the chocolate pie my mother made is particularly tempting.) ^_^

More information on dreams – especially the ones that Harry seems to have when they're not about Voldemort – comes to light.

Thanks to everybody that reviewed! Ah, what good reviews do to a depressed ego. ^^;

******

  Harry sat up, disoriented. Sleepy green eyes blinked in confusion for a brief moment before the realization that it had just been a dream swept over him. He reached over for his glasses and couldn't believe how tired he felt, even after sleeping for close to nine hours.

  He looked over and found Ron still fast asleep. A smile crept over his face as he saw his best friend hanging over the side of his bed in an awkward position. Every time they played Quidditch he ended up like that, and the more competitive game - usually against Slytherin - the more he ended up actually falling out of bed.

  Eyes blinking sleepily, he rose and walked to the window and looked across the sweeping lawn in front of him. The winter-dead grass blew in the strong wind as the trees waved their lifeless limbs in great swaying sweeps. A chill like last night once again ran down his spine, but was stronger than the others. His talk with Raymund came back to him.

  "Dreams can be interpreted either as literal scenes or symbolic. It is up to the dreamer to decide which it truly is, for it is their thoughts, and they must be the ones to know what the dream means." He turned to Draco first. "You have seen a lot of dreams concerning your family." The blond nodded cautiously. "Most dreams of the family really aren't about your blood family, but more of what would be called an emotional one. Each member of that family has a certain role to play, but you are not sure what yours is, right?"

_  Draco nodded again._

_  "This is probably what your dreams are trying to tell you - that you must make a decision in your life that will change your entire future. And, since Aeryn woke up something inside of you when you went shadowwalking, that must come into play." Raymund sighed. "Such a thing in not an easy burden, and I wish I could delve more deeply into this but I have to go back to school."_

_  All of them had looked up at that. Raymund gave them a smile worthy of his sister. "I am in my last year of school, just as you are," he said in his somber voice. "But when the time comes I will be here to fight."_

_  Hermione spoke up. "When the time comes to fight? How...?"_

_  "Dreams can be good indications of the future, but even I cannot interpret all that I have," Raymund said. "They are funny things, and chances that would never come to pass in reality play a large part in the dream world. Even I don't fully understand it, and I've been studying it since I was eight."_

_  "Eight?" Ron asked._

_  Raymund nodded and gave his sister a quick look. Aeryn smiled encouragingly back at him. "That is when people in my tribe start studying. I also had the heritage from my father to deal with."_

_  "Ray," Aeryn said in a soft voice._

_  Raymund shook his head. "Anyway, I have half a year left of school, then I will probably join Dad and Aeryn at La Incendio Montagna to teach."_

_  Harry laughed when Aeryn snorted. "And you would teach 'goofing off?'"_

_  "Well," Raymund went on to say, "I thought that was what you were going off to teach, but I think you're now married to your cauldron."_

_  "Very funny, Ray. What about Harry's dreams? And why did the walk I bring them back from wake up 'something?'"_

_  "From what I've learned, each person has their own way of seeing things. In your case, Aeryn, you can actually walk in the shadows of others. But then you and Aedyn are special cases because you can share each other's gift."_

_  "How?" Hermione looked startled at this._

_  "Because of the two of us being twins," Aeryn stated. "He is not a shadowwalker, but he can.... Hm. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's like he can see - literally see - spells, invisible objects, that nobody else would even have thought to look for." She stopped for a moment, but then continued, "but what I don't understand is how these 'gifts' can suddenly waken."_

_  Harry then looked at all the others. "I learned that my mother had the ability to see beyond facades," he said in a soft voice. "Soon after she left school, I think it was."_

_  Ron looked surprised, Draco intrigued, and the others thoughtful._

_  "And I feel that when I dream I can see straight into a person's thoughts and feelings."_

_  "Almost like they are mentally naked, right?" Aeryn slowly asked._

_  Harry nodded._

_  "Hm." Hermione had been silently taking in all the information. "From what I gather, each person has a gift. And in some cases that gift can be wakened at a certain point in their lives, or essentially forced to the surface. Like when you went on the shadowwalk."_

_  Harry and Draco both nodded._

_  "Then maybe these dreams are like an interim step - a sort of middle ground - before you can use them consciously."_

_  Raymund agreed. "That's what it sounds like to me."_

  "'Mornin'" Ron's sleepy voice pulled him from his memories.

  Harry turned and gave him a bright smile. "Good morning!"

  "You're bright and chipper this morning," the red head complained as he dragged himself fully into his bed.

  "Nah." Harry gave an impish smile at his friend. "You're just grumpy, that's all."

  "Wha?" A pair of blue eyes squinted at him.

  "Go back to sleep, then," Harry told Ron. "I don't think you're quite ready to wake up."

  "Sure, yeah," Ron said in a muffled voice as he burrowed his head into his pillow.

  Harry watched him for a couple of minutes before getting dressed. Somehow he knew that Hermione wasn't up yet, but he wanted to talk to somebody. So, he would have to look around the castle.

  Slowly he made his way down, not paying any attention to where he was going.

  "What are you doing here, Potter?"

  He looked up to find Snape practically standing on top of him.

  "I - "

  "Spit it out, Potter."

  Harry was silent, trying to come up with something to say. He looked at the Potions teacher for a moment as the older man narrowed black eyes. Opening his mouth, he stopped when blinding pain ripped through his head, centering in his scar. He blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on the blur Snape had become.

  "Potter..."

  He heard Snape's voice coming through what seemed a long tunnel before he plunged into blackness.

******

  Snape clutched his left arm, almost in sympathy. The pain wasn't as bad as it usually was, though lately it had grown worse. Still, there had been a sharp moment of pain as he had watched Potter fall to the floor in a crumpled heap this morning. After that it was a blur until half an hour ago, when Madam Pomfrey had assured all those gathered that he was resting comfortably and she didn't want anybody to disturb him.

  The Dark Mark wasn't glowing as bright as it did when Voldemort called his followers, but it was only a matter of time when he would be called to a meeting. It had been a while since a full one had been called, in fact the night before Halloween. That had been strange, since the Dark lord had fallen on such a date, and indeed seemed to ignore it altogether.

  Shoving these thoughts to the side for a while, he nodded when Dumbledore spoke quietly before heading down to the dungeons. This called for some work.

******

  "Wormtail."

  Harry knew that voice. It had been haunting him for four years now. He just wondered what Voldemort was up to now.

  "You are finished with the preparations for the traitor?"

  Harry finally was able to focus on the scene and what he saw frankly terrified him. In front of Voldemort lay a wide spread of various torture devices, ranging from the strangely - and morbidly - incredible, to medieval Muggle. A shudder ran through him when he realized this was meant for somebody.

  "No... no, M-master," Wormtail stuttered, bringing Harry's eyes back from the devices that were scattered around the room. The silver-handed man was kneeling in front of Voldemort, his right hand giving off a dim light all of its own, competing with the faint candlelight. "I - "

  Voldemort laughed. "What is your excuse this time?" His voice was very low now, and Harry knew it was only a matter of time before he used the Cruciatus Curse on Wormtail. Voldemort lifted his wand and pointed it at the cowering man in front of him. "I do not want an excuse, I want results! _Crucio!_"

  Harry felt the pain of the curse, even though it wasn't directed at him. Hot fire coursed through his body as every nerve ending seemed to be trying to jump out of his body to get away from the intense pain. A small part of his brain was telling him that this was much longer than the curse Voldemort had used on him fourth year, but the rest of it was crying in agony.

  Suddenly the curse stopped as Voldemort gave a short, cold laugh. "Now, Wormtail... are you finished with the task I have given you?"

  The man laying on the floor just panted for a couple of seconds before pushing himself a few inches off of it. "We are just w-waiting for him to come."

  "Ah, yes. The traitor." Voldemort's red eyes grew brighter as they narrowed. "He is a clever one, clever enough to hide from me the fact that he has betrayed me several times." He laughed again, in the same cold manner. Harry shivered at the chilling sound. "I only wish that I could see the look on old Bumbly's face when we get through with my 'faithful' servant. Soon his servant will return."

  The laughter stopped when someone entered the room. Harry felt the chill flow through the air. 'Dementors,' he thought.

  The tall, hooded figure stepped into the room. Voldemort's face flashed with a grim smile. "I see you are ready to take your places."

  Harry tried to see more but the chill from the Dementor finally got to him and he descended back into the darkness.

******

  Harry woke up; eyes wide open in the dim light of the room. The long shadows on the floor indicated that it was late in the day. He didn't remember falling asleep, and yet... Memory came back to him with the force of a sledgehammer.

  Hurrying to put his glasses on, he looked around the infirmary wildly. Not a soul to be seen, though he could hear movement in Madam Pomfrey's office. Panic raced through him as he thought of what he had dreamed about. Voldemort was near, and he knew something was going on. Harry wasn't exactly sure, but it was enough to make Voldemort very angry.

  Suddenly sure of what he must do, he hurried out of bed. Quietly, he quickly dressed and slipped out of the infirmary and into the hallway. Steadily making his way towards the dungeons, he stopped with the realization that he should talk to Dumbledore first.

  "Harry?" Aeryn's tired voice startled him. He could hear concern in her voice. "Are you all right?"

  He turned and found her making her way towards him, both arms filled with books. "Would you take me to Professor Dumbledore's office?"

  She gave him a quizzical look but nodded. "Sure."

  Harry felt her eyes on him, and just as it was starting to irritate him, she said, "are you sure you're all right?"

  He gave her a reassuring glance when he saw the worry etched on her face. Nodding, he said, "I have to speak to him. Then I'll be okay."

  She correctly interpreted that as the sign to continue, and two minutes later they were standing in front of Dumbledore's office. "Chunky Monkey," she muttered. Harry heard a faint trace of laughter in her voice as the gargoyle slowly moved, allowing entry. "I still can't believe he used that," she mumbled.

  As soon as both of them were inside they looked around. Dumbledore wasn't here.

  "Granddad?"

  "Professor Dumbledore?"

  Harry and Aeryn looked at each other in puzzlement.

  "Weird. He was just here half an hour ago," Aeryn said as she peeked through the door into the Headmaster's private chambers. She paused for a moment and then looked back at Harry. "Come in. We can wait for him in here."

  He hesitated only for a brief moment before following her. On the other side of the door he stopped as he was hit by a whirlwind of fur.

  "Circe," he heard Aeryn chide behind the mask of fur. "Let him at least get in the door!"

  Harry laughed. "It's all right, Aeryn."

  "Good."

  Fifteen minutes later and Dumbledore still hadn't shown up. By now Harry was getting concerned and he hoped he wouldn't forget anything from his dream. Maybe he should have gone and talked to Snape about it. After all, the dream had been about him. He looked up to see Circe sitting on his lap, her tail twitching as she leaned over and snuffled at him.

  "She's worried about you," Aeryn said as she came in from a room farther back in the castle. "So am I. What's going on, Harry?"

  He saw that she was looking at him with worried eyes - so much like Dumbledore's. Still, he wanted to speak to the Headmaster first about his dream. "I can't...."

  "I understand." She sat down in the chair opposite him. Aeryn looked at the door again before glancing at Harry. "Maybe he'll be here soon."

  Harry shrugged his shoulders, but he couldn't keep a nonchalant look on his face. Instead, he watched as she pulled out the small potions book she had gotten from Snape and started to read it. Even after seven years he still didn't know what could be so fascinating about potions. Some of that might come from the fact that Snape hated him, and that some little part of him resented that and took the shape of hating the class. Thinking about it, he knew that it had to be a *big* part of him that did that. Even now he could remember the hateful voice of his first day of potions at Hogwarts.

  "What's so interesting about that book?" Harry heard himself ask.

  Aeryn's head shot up and he could see that she was startled. "What?"

  Harry leaned forward and pointed at the book. "Why are you reading that again?"

  She sighed and looked at the fire for a moment. "Because its one of the few things I can do without blowing something up or totally screwing things up."

  He looked startled and felt confused. "Blowing up... what?"

  "Anything if it involves using my wand and I think too hard about what the outcome is supposed to be," she chuckled derisively. "You don't need a lot of magic to brew a potion, basically just skill and knowledge."

  "Oh," Harry replied. Now that he had heard this, it made sense that he had never seen her with a wand. All the other teachers he'd had carried theirs around, but for Snape. "Ray said you were married to your cauldron."

  Aeryn muttered under her breath, "I'm going to hex him the next time I see him for that."

  Harry laughed. "So why don't you ever use your wand? I mean..."

  "Harry, do you use your wand all the time?" she suddenly asked.

  He sat back, shaking his head. "No."

  "Good. I do think that Granddad should teach you some things that involved wandless magic."

  "I know some, since I seemed to get the hang of it in fifth year."

  Aeryn looked up. "When you turned fifteen?"

  Harry nodded. "That is also when Professor Dumbledore told me about my heritage."

  "Good." She gave a quick smile. "You don't have to elaborate. Fifteen is the first stage of a wizard or witch's growth." Aeryn set the book down and leaned forward in her seat. "How about something a little different, then?"

  "Like what?" he asked, intrigued by the suggestion.

  She thought for a couple of seconds. "Probably some of the charms that you learned in your first year and saying them without using the incantation, little things like that. It's just a lot harder to do without a sound than with it, either with your wand or without."

  "That would be a wise idea, Aeryn." Both of them looked to find Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway, a smile on his face, but not a twinkle to be seen. He nodded at them in greeting before coming to sit next to Harry on the small sofa. "You should get started on that."

  "But, I have to go back to teach," she interjected. "In fact, I should start packing now."

  Dumbledore shook his head. "You should stay here, Aeryn. They are looking for you now."

  Harry stared at the Headmaster before turning to see a stunned look on Aeryn's face.

  "What - ? Who's looking for me?"

  "The Dementors," Dumbledore said, gravely. "When you took Harry to Azkaban, they could feel you. I don't know if they've told Voldemort or not about you, but you will be safest here."

  "But, Dad..."

  Dumbledore cut her off. "He will be going back. You are staying here."

  She slumped in her seat and was quiet.

  "Harry, were you looking for me?" Dumbledore asked as he turned his attention to his student.

  Harry nodded. "I had another dream in the infirmary. About Professor Snape..." he drifted off, unsure of how to phrase what he had seen.

  "What about him, Harry?"

  "I don't think he should go to the next meeting with Voldemort," Harry finally said in a slow voice. "I think that he knows Professor Snape is on our side."

  The only sound heard in the room after this statement was the crackle and pop from the burning wood in the fireplace.

******

  Draco shivered as he watched the carriages arrive from Hogsmeade. The students who had left for the holiday were returning, but he didn't want to talk to any of them. Especially his housemates. By now, those whose fathers were Death Eaters knew that Lucius was captured, and he would bear the brunt of their suspicion. Plus, he now had to add in the fact that he was going to be openly acknowledging Po - Harry and his friends.

  He suddenly wanted to scream as frustration about the entire situation rose inside of him. Draco hadn't asked for any of this, in fact had been waiting for the moment when he was legally able to get away from his father. The only thing that had given him strength in the last three years was that Voldemort hadn't made him get the Dark Mark. He knew this only because his father had been complaining - volubly - that he couldn't introduce his son as a fellow Death Eater because Dumbledore would sense it. The Mark was notorious among the Death Eaters to react when a fellow member was near, causing them both to send off a kind of magic tracer.

  Hmm, he wondered why he had thought of that.

  He thought back to the dreams he'd had the night before. It was an old one, one he'd had for a while. Now, though, he knew that it had been real. The first time the dream had come, Draco had been fourteen. Three years ago. He had thought it was due to trauma from when Moody turned him into.... He shivered at that thought.

  In his dream, the Dark Mark had appeared over a seemingly, perfectly ordinary house. As he slipped towards it in his dream, Draco had found it was just a heap of singed timbers and melted glass. But the extraordinary thing about it was that he heard a soft cry in the background - almost like that of a child. Draco couldn't tell how old the child was, only that they were young.

  This time, when he'd had the dream, he was able to go further into the house. He had seen the lines the house had been built along. The ghostly image of the house as it had been springing up around as it lay in ruins had been eerily striking. A cold wind had been blowing through the deserted yard, silent but for the crying child. Draco had turned to look for it when the wind disappeared, only to be replaced by a strangely hot gust. Suddenly he found he couldn't breath in the arid desert the house had become. Evil had seemed to swarm all around him, leaving him unable to defend himself against it.

  Even as he stood in the desert, surrounded by shadows, he could still hear the child crying. The voice gave him power to fight, a power he hadn't known he held. His dream self was able to fight and, breaking free of the shadows, appeared at the edge of a lake.

  At this point, Draco had usually woken up. Last night, however, he had almost forced himself to go even further.

  The lake was on fire, a purple flame rising high into a night sky that held no stars. On the far shore stood three people and they seemed to be calling him towards them. As he drew nearer, he could see that it was a small child, a woman, and a man, but he couldn't quite tell who they were. Twenty feet from him, he noticed that the child was very young and was crying - the same crying he had always heard. Still, because of the shadows from the bright flames, he couldn't see their faces while they were slightly turned away from him. Taking one more step he found he couldn't move as the woman looked directly at him. Bright green eyes seemed to look deep in his soul.

  Draco was frozen in place. He had seen her before, but where. Then, the man turned and he knew why. These were Harry's parents, and Harry himself. But why this age? He looked at them, not sure why he was having this dream at all when the flames behind him went out, drawing his attention to the lake. Turning, he found he was no longer beside a lake, but at the house again.

  As he had stepped through a door he had woken up, sweating profusely, breathing erratic. Draco didn't know what to make of this dream. He had poured over all the books he had gotten from the library, but they hadn't offered much help. Why would he dream of Harry's family? And the house?

  Shaking his head, he looked out the window and saw that the steam from the train as it pulled out of the station. His time for being who he truly could be was up for the moment. Gamely putting on a mask he no longer wished to wear, he headed down to the dungeons that held Slytherin House.

  He was halfway down there when something made him stop. It felt as if somebody had left a door wide open, but there was no outside access in this corridor. Something was terribly wrong here, and Draco didn't want to stay to find out. Rushing down the next hallway, he rounded the corner and crashed into somebody.

  "Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

  A sigh escaped him as he saw Professors Steele and McGonagall standing in front of him.

  "So... something's wrong down there," he said, pointing in the direction he had come from.

  Professor McGonagall nodded. "You two stay here."

  Five minutes later she was back, white as a sheet. "Ella, take Malfoy up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Now."

  "Minerva? What's happening?" Professor Steele asked.

  "Dementors."

AN: Sorry about the 'Chunky Monkey.' It's my favorite Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream flavor. Yum... banana ice cream with chocolate and walnuts! I think its time I took a trip to the store. ^_^


	9. Guardians

******

Chapter 9

Guardians

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't own, don't own. pouts If I did own this, I.... blush I'd better not tell anyone, what would happen if I did own it.

Tidmag – I just about fell off my chair reading your reviews (which is not a good thing for 4 in the morning!)! I have to relate about the 'Note to Self' – and can completely understand. And as for Draco! I have lots of things in store for him (and Harry) as well! I, too, love Snape! There's just something about him....

Thanks to Prophetess of Hearts, Luna Rose, Arizosa, and Atheis who reviewed! Ah, it laid a calming balm on my heart as it recovers from getting too close to my computer crashing into little bits. But, I saved it! (Barely...)

Enough with me jammering on – here's the next chapter....

Things are just getting started!

******

  Harry felt the coldness start to seep into his veins. Green lights seemed to flicker in his peripheral vision, just enough to make him keep looking in each direction. The crystal he wore around his neck gave off a pulsing beat.

  "Harry?" He looked up at Dumbledore, who wore a grave expression on his face.

  "Dementors..." he managed to get out. The coldness was overwhelming, and already he could hear the faint screams of his mother. The only thing that was holding him up was the knowledge that he could perform the Patronus charm. That gave him hope.

  Dumbledore sped out of the room, leaving Harry and Aeryn behind. The three of them had been discussing lessons for Harry when that awful feeling swept over him. Harry shivered as the cold drew closer.

  He looked over at Aeryn and found she held her wand in her left hand, and she wore a necklace like he did. The crystal's light was growing more steadily as they both waited for the Dementors to go by.

  The cold rushed in again as Harry whipped back towards the door. The hooded, cloaked figure was swiftly walking towards them, invading the very sanctuary of the Headmaster. He held out his wand and pointed it at the Dementor.

  "_Expecto Patronum_," he said in a steady voice and watched as the stag came out of his wand. Next to him he heard Aeryn whisper the words. A soft white shape floated from the end of her wand into a unicorn. The Dementor paused at the sight, hurrying out of the office and Harry sighed with relief as it did so. He shakily sat down in his chair as his legs decided that they didn't want to stand any longer.

  The inner door opened and a small bundle of scared child leapt at him. "Harry! Aeryn!"

  "Shh, Marty," he whispered. He could feel her trembling against him and apart from his own. Harry looked over at Aeryn, whose face was pale and her hands were shaking.

  "I hate those things," she said as she noticed Harry was looking at her. All he could do was nod. The coldness lingered in the air, even as they heard shuffling outside.

  "Pepper imps!" The candy was shouted, and Harry recognized it as Draco. He stood and carried Marty over to where Aeryn leaned against the sofa and ran down the stairs. Cautiously opening the door, he pulled the blond boy quickly in and shut it, hearing the grinding of the gargoyle as it slid back into place.

  Under his hand he could feel Draco shaking violently and immediately understood what had happened. "Where did you see them?"

  Draco looked around Dumbledore's office as they made their way into the living area behind it. "The dungeons.... Pro... Professor McGonagall and Professor Steele are... The dungeons..." he finally panted out.

  Harry's head whipped over to look at where Aeryn and Marty were now standing as they entered through the door. As he did so he felt a strange pulse of power. He stopped at once, noticing that Draco did the same. There was a strange look on all their faces as the power surged again.

  The ground shifted under his feet as he took another step into the room, trying to shake the strange feeling surrounding him. The four paintings of the founders seemed to glow out of the corner of his eye as he tried to concentrate on the others. Draco, Aeryn and Marty were sliding out of focus and Harry tried to raise his hand up to his head. He found he couldn't do it as he felt his entire body seem to turn into a statue, as if somebody had performed _Petrificus Totalus_ on him.

  An odd light swirled in the room as he heard Draco fall to the floor next to him. Harry tried to look down but it was as if he could only see the colors as they whipped around the room in a whirlwind. Again he heard a noise, softer this time, but he couldn't make out if it was Aeryn or Marty who had fallen. A second later it didn't matter as he fell to the floor as well, blackness overtaking everything.

  "Harry?"

  He heard his name being called, but it was far away. Part of his mind welcomed the darkness since his entire body was in pain. It felt as if he had fallen off his broom from a great height the way his muscles ached.

  "Harry?"

  There it was again, only much closer. A soft voice was calling him in his ear, a gentle whispering voice indicating that it was time to leave the blackness that he lay in.

  Opening an eye, he was greeted with a blurry world. He reached up, wondering where his glasses were when his hand bumped into them. The movement knocked them askew and suddenly the world tilted into focus. His other eye shot open as he dragged his glasses off and sat up. He ignored the pain this called for and looked around the room in wonder.

  "Are you all right, Harry?" He looked back to see a woman's face watching him carefully. She seemed very familiar to him in the way her eyes twinkled, but they were a soft shade of purple.

  "Aeryn?" The name popped into his head and he knew it was right when she nodded. "What was that?"

  She shook her hair and Harry saw that there were long streaks of pale blue in it. "I don't know, but it was powerful. And now we're in a room I don't recognize..." She shifted from her kneeling position to sit on the warm floor. "All I know is that I woke up and all three of you were... different."

  Harry looked around the room as she spoke. This room was sparsely decorated, and there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. Still, he had the feeling that nothing living had been in this room for a long time. 'Different...' He wasn't sure what she meant by that until he saw a blond man starting to shift slightly on the stone floor, and a young, brown-haired woman a few feet away from the rest of them. Each of them had the same strange streaks of color in their hair, the blond man with red and the woman with white strips of color.

  He watched as Aeryn went over to the man. "Draco?"

  Harry's eyes widened. Could that possibly be Draco? It couldn't be, as this man was around Aeryn's age. It wasn't possible, at least, he thought it wasn't. He watched as Aeryn carefully brushed a long strand of hair out of the man's face before he went back to his inspection of the room. Spotting a mirror, he slowly made his way to his feet. He winced as every muscle screamed at him to stay still. And yet, he had to see what Aeryn meant by 'different.' Stopping in front of the mirror, his mouth dropped open in shock.

  He didn't look like him. A man around the same age as Aeryn stared back at him with eyes as emerald green as before. His hair, though, was now in a long, messy tangle down past his shoulders with blond streaks running through it. But was startled him the most was that his scar was gone. Lifting one hand up to his forehead, he rubbed the flesh, trying to feel where the scar might have gone.

  "What the hell?!"

  He turned at the sound of an older Draco's annoyed voice. The blond was looking around the room in a panic and Harry noticed that his eyes were a darker shade of grey than before. His pointed face had filled out, softening into a startling combination of his parents' beauty and something else as well.

  "What is this?" Draco asked as he tried to shove himself off the floor. He made it up to his knees before he sagged and groaned. The low moan was filled with pain as he shifted slowly back to the floor.

  "Are you okay, Draco?" Aeryn asked in a soft voice. She was kneeling next to him and held his shoulders in her hands, trying to keep him balanced.

  Harry came over to the two of them and knelt as well. He heard Draco's shocked gasp as he saw Harry, but he was looking at Aeryn for a brief moment. Tilting his head over to where the young woman lay, he said in a low voice, "do you think that's Marty?"

  Aeryn eyed him thoughtfully, her dark blond eyebrows scrunched together before nodding. "I... I think so. We were the only four in the room."

  "Where are we?" Draco asked as he finally found the strength to get to his feet.

  "We don't know," Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders. He looked around the room again and noticed a sword on the wall. It looked like it was the sword he had pulled from the Sorting Hat his second year in the Chamber of Secrets. Curious, he rose once more and walked over to it and touched it with a light hand.

  The metal glowed with a soft red light and he felt power run up his arms. He pulled back slightly before running a finger along the handle. Harry could feel a warmth coming from the jewels that were inlaid in the gleaming silver. Gripping it in a loose grip, he picked up the sword and turned to find Draco and Aeryn watching him in shock.

  "Ha... Harry," Aeryn stuttered. "I think you'd better... look in the mirror again." Her curiously purple eyes seemed to glow slightly in the softly lighted room.

  Walking over to the mirror again, Harry was stunned at the sight that greeted him. He looked... very different than he had just a couple minutes ago. His face gave off a faint shimmer, and he now wore long red robes with golden yellow piping along the seams. What were once green eyes were now a rich blue-green color, like the seas of the tropics after a storm. His mouth hung open as he looked down and saw a gold bracelet wrapped around his left wrist. On his throat were odd symbols that gave off a gentle warmth as he slightly pulled his collar to see where the feeling was coming from.

  "Wow..." Harry gawked at the mirror again as he heard Aeryn and Draco move towards him.

  "How'd that happen?" Aeryn asked as she looked in the mirror. She froze when she saw herself. "What?!" She ran a pale hand through her hair and turned towards the other two. "I... I have blue hair!"

  "And purple eyes," Harry said in the same low voice he had spoken in before. He liked the sound of it compared with the cracking voice he'd had a couple of years before. Even yesterday he had thought he still sounded childish, but now his voice was a rich tenor. Smiling, he moved out of the way so Draco could see his reflection.

  The red streaked blond leaned in until his nose was almost touching the looking glass. "This is not me. I'm not this old, damnit!"

  Aeryn laughed in a soft tone. "Now you are."

  Harry saw her glance at their surroundings and watched as she walked over to where a curious piece of wood lay. She stroked the wood slowly and it began to glow. As he watched her robes changed into a startling deep blue. A shimmering purple lay at the bottoms of the sleeves and the hem.

  "Awesome!" Aeryn turned around, a happy smile on her face. Harry noted that her eyes were an even deeper purple than before and she had strange markings around her eyes. The gold bracelet that now appeared on her left wrist had the same markings on it. He looked at his bracelet again and saw that the same symbols that graced his throat were laid in the gold.

  A low moan caught all three's attention. The young woman that lay on the floor began to move slightly. Aeryn rushed over to her, Harry and Draco not far behind.

  "Marty?" Harry asked softly.

  "Wake up, Marty," Aeryn said, gently touching the other woman's shoulder.

  The woman's eyelids fluttered open, revealing warm brown eyes that looked like melted, bittersweet chocolate. She looked in confusion between them before raising herself on one elbow. "Wha...?" She jumped at the sound of her own voice. "But... but I thought I..." she drifted off as she looked at her hands and then her body.

  "It's okay, Marty," Aeryn reassured her. "I think that you had to catch up to the rest of us." She looked up at Harry and Draco. "At least that's the feeling I have. Both of you aged to my age, and Marty definitely has grown a lot."

  Harry nodded thoughtfully.

  "Harry," Draco began. "Where are your glasses?"

  The other man shrugged. "I don't need them."

  Aeryn shook her head. "Neither do I."

  Draco and Harry looked at her. "You didn't wear glasses," Draco said.

  "I wore contacts," she replied. "I was far sighted, but now I can see perfectly no matter how close something gets to my face. And even distances seem sharper." She pointed out the small window, which had a scene outside it that none of them recognized. "Like there's a hawk circling over those trees."

  Draco frowned. "I think we all have the same eyesight."

  Harry and Aeryn gave him a curious look, while Marty gave the same confused one she'd been wearing in the few minutes she had been awake.

  "But, where are we? And why am I suddenly so much older? And how do I know a whole lot of things a three year old shouldn't know?"

   Aeryn stood up and began to pace. The blue robes she wore billowed as she turned the corner, giving her a royal appearance. All of a sudden she stopped and looked at them. "I think I know what it is. Grandad had me read this book once, and told me to remember it. I'm not sure who wrote it, but it was full of different prophecies. One of them had this strange 'riddle' in the middle of it.

  "Now that I think of it, Voldemort's real name is Riddle, right?"

  Harry nodded. "Tom Marvolo Riddle."

  "I get it," Aeryn said. "Let me see, how did it start?" She was quiet for a couple seconds before she brought out her wand and conjured up a chair and sat herself. "Well, that was much better than I thought it would be."

  Harry and Draco gave each other strange looks before scrambling off the floor and conjuring their own chairs. The blond's mouth gaped when he saw his chair. "I never could get it to come out right!"

  Aeryn waved over near Marty and conjured her a chair as well. "There you go, sweetie... Um. Marty." She looked sheepish. "Sorry..."

  The other woman waved it off. "It's okay. I'm still having a little trouble believing myself."

  They were all quiet for a moment before Aeryn spoke again.

  "The book said that there would be four souls that were to take the place of the four guardians. Until such time brought them all together, the guardians would watch over their treasure, keeping it safe until the moment arrived - the moment the destined four souls met. When this happened, they would each be given help to learn the powers the guardians were to grant them. No matter what the ages of them were, they would take the age of the eldest, as well as their wisdom. The vitality of the youngest would be granted to each of them, ensuring that they would live for their purpose. Each would be given the keen eyesight and intuition of the one who would be able to give the most insight, while the fourth would give them a steady sense of poise and power, as they would be the one who held the most. Once all four souls have been healed and trained in their own way, they would once again be equal on some levels, yet have individual differences.

  "The book went on to say that during the time the souls that wandered until when they met again, the guardians that stayed together would grow in strength while watching others that happened to pass by. Once all the souls were joined, anything that ever held a part of their soul was give energy back to the soul."

  Aeryn frowned. "I'm just summarizing it, and I hope its not that confusing. I had to reread that section several times in order to understand it. From what I've found out, it's believed that the book was written by Merlin himself. It was his teachings that led to the founding of Hogwarts by Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

  "It goes on to say that they would have to solve a riddle to bring peace back in the world, but I honestly had no clue what that meant until a couple of minutes ago. Indeed, I think I had forgotten that passage until I touched this," she said, indicating the bow that lay across her lap in the chair.

  Harry looked over at her and found a quiver full of strange looking arrows. Each one gave off a different color, ending in a rainbow effect on the floor beneath the chair. He looked at Draco and Marty, both of whom were wearing black robes. He also wondered about Marty's clothes growing with her and gave her an odd look. Looking back up, he saw that Aeryn had noticed where his eyes had been as a blush spread across her cheeks. "I gave her clothes," she said in a soft, embarrassed voice.

  Marty squeaked, making Harry and Draco laugh.

  A glance around the room revealed two more corners that had previously gone unexplored. The sword that rested in his lap had been in one, while the bow Aeryn had found was in another. He had the feeling that Draco and Marty would find something in the other corners. "I think you two should look for something that belongs to you," he said in the uncomfortable silence that had stretched between the four.

  Draco nodded and stood. A glint of silver had caught his eye and he strode towards it. His eyes widened when he got sight of the silver short sword that rested on top of a jewel studded sheath. With a gentle hand, he picked it up and held it reverently before turning back to the corner. He saw Harry watching him with a surprised look on his face and Aeryn had an amused one. Looking across the room, he saw Marty standing in front of a small table. She reached for something and her robes turned into a rich chocolate brown that seemed to shimmer in the candlelight that supplemented the weak sunlight that came through the small window. On the cuffs was a shimmering buttery yellow in an intricate Celtic weave.

  That reminded Draco to look down. He found his robes were now the green of Slytherin with odd silver markings along the bottom six inches of hem. On his left wrist was a gold bracelet similar to the ones that the others were wearing, as he saw Marty had one as well.

  He saw Harry smirk. "Looks like you're the one who has the mark now, Draco."

  "What!" Draco raced over to the mirror and found that he was right. On his forehead were markings the same as on his bracelet. He noticed that while he still had the red streaks in his hair, the silver blond had bleached even further, giving it an odd glow. Yet, the markings on his forehead were just a little different from Aeryn's.

  "Why don't you two have these?" Draco asked as he pointed to his forehead.

  Harry sighed and pulled down his collar, showing his.

  Marty flushed. "Do I have to show mine?"

  All three looked at her. "Where is it?" Aeryn asked.

  She placed her left hand just between her breasts. "Right here," she said, her voice holding much embarrassment. Her right hand shook as it held two sharp daggers made of a dull grey metal and a wand she hadn't had before.

  Aeryn shook her head when she saw the glazed look in Harry and Draco's eyes. "No."

  "Damn," Draco muttered under his breath. Aeryn slapped him upside the head and gave him a rude look before settling back into her chair.

  "I wonder why us?" Harry wondered.

  "Because you are essentially us." All four looked to find the source of the strangely soft voice. There was no door to the room, so nobody could have gotten in that way.

  "And who are you?" Harry asked.

  Four figures slowly appeared. They had the look of the ghosts that floated the hallways of the school, but they seemed more ethereal, as if they didn't give off that cold feeling but one of warmth. Each of them went to stand in front of the four who sat in the chairs before they congregated in the center of them.

  "We are the guardians," the taller of the two women said.

  "Or you could say you are the new guardians," the shorter of the two men countered.

  "Salazar, be quiet!" the other woman scolded.

  The four who were a lot more solid choked. "Did... did you just say Salazar?" asked Aeryn. "As in Salazar Slytherin?" Her voice was very shaky, and Draco was glad she had been able to get the question out because his voice didn't seem to want to work.

  The shorter man nodded. "Yes, I am he. Or was, actually."

  "And I was/am Rowena Ravenclaw," the taller woman said.

  "Godric Gryffindor," the taller man bowed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

  The shorter woman hit him, even though it seemed impossible. "Pleased to meet yourself you mean." She gave a quick smile. "I am Helga Hufflepuff."


	10. The Founders

******

Chapter 10

The Founders

Disclaimers: I don't own anything but the plot and any strange character you might find. JK Rowling is the gracious owner of everything recognizable (as well as about a thousand different corporations!).

AN: Another chapter! Thanks to everyone that reviewed. The four aren't *quite* the reincarnations of the founders, but close....

******

  Harry gave the others a look to see what their reaction to this was. Each of them seemed to be wearing the shock he felt. Finally, Draco roused himself enough to ask a question.

  "But, I thought that Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts never to return..." His voice was very confused sounding, and there was a puzzled look in his dark grey eyes.

  Salazar pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Yes, I did say that. What many do not know, most likely only us four and now you, was that I came back here the day before my body passed on to help protect this school. I learned that I had been foolish to let one single issue drive a deep enough wedge that would ruin the best friendships I'd ever had."

  Godric nodded. "We were pleased that he had returned, even though we could do nothing for him for him to keep on living."

  "Yes," Salazar agreed. "I realized that, in the last thousand years, I have been wrong about pureblood."

  Draco gawked, but Harry saw Aeryn move forward before he did so himself. He saw Salazar turn towards Harry. "I have seen that with you, Harry. In the last seven years I have seen the good that your mother gave you, even though she was born in the Muggle world. She gave her life for you when many of my followers would have let their children die. To work magic you don't have to be a pureblood."

  Harry blinked rapidly, trying to suppress the emotions that wanted to choke him when anybody mentioned the sacrifice his mother had made for him.

  Salazar turned to Aeryn. "And you, Aeryn, with you only being half human, you have surprised me as well."

  All the others were stunned at this revelation, even the other ghosts.

  "You mean she's only part human?" Rowena asked in an incredulous, but not disgusted, voice. "The one that is to replace me isn't entirely human?"

  Aeryn gave an embarrassed nod and blushed. "I.... My mother was a forest elf."

  "I see." Rowena gave her a warm smile. "That is why the bow showed up and not the globe."

  Aeryn responded with a small, tight grimace.

  "Hm." Everybody looked at Salazar. "And now we must pull together to stop my heir," he said in a sad voice. "He has walked too deeply into the darkness, and the only way to stop him is for him to cease to exist."

  Helga laid a hand on his shoulder. "If he had any light left in him, this would not have had to happen."

  Marty gave a slight cough. "So, why are you here, anyway? And where are we? Still at Hogwarts?"

  Godric gave a bright smile. "You are in a room that only the eight of us know of. Even your headmaster," he looked at Draco and Harry, "does not know of its existence.

  "Then why don't any of us recognize what's out the window?" Harry asked.

  Helga laughed. "That is just a painting."

  Four pairs of eyes grew wide at that.

  "Then what is the painting of?" Draco asked.

  "Avalon," the four founders said in unison.

  "Merlin's forest?" Aeryn gave them a thoughtful look.

  "Yes," Rowena answered. "He was the one who gave us much help when we started this school. He also taught us that we should be willing to work for what we wanted."

  "It was his way of helping us from falling into the depths of the Dark Arts," Salazar added. "I just did not remember his lessons until it was almost too late."

  There was silence for a minute before Aeryn spoke. "So we are the new guardians?"

  Godric nodded.

  "But, what happens when we actually go to take your places?" Draco asked.

  The four founders looked a little unsure. "We are not entirely certain what will happen. Right now all four of you are on an equal footing, but after we train you that will not be the case," Rowena said. "There is also the possibility of our souls not being able to meld back into their right places, and the mix up of power could be devastating."

  Helga nodded sadly. "This is one area of knowledge that no one understands. It is why the dead cannot be brought back to life without the death of another."

  "We are taking as big a risk as you are," Salazar said.

  "Once we attempt to join, the others outside of this room will cease to be protected by us." Godric gave the four in the chairs a steady look. "We have, several times in the last millennium, been the last resort to protect this castle and these grounds from those who have wanted to destroy all that we worked so hard to establish."

  The room was draped in silence again for a long time as each delved into their own thoughts.

  Harry suddenly jumped up. "I say we go for it. I mean, what other things can we do besides this that will guarantee we'll be successful? Voldemort has already managed to avoid death once, barely, but he will cling stubbornly to life as long as we don't do something."

  Aeryn nodded and stood. "I'm willing."

  Draco and Marty were quiet as they looked at each other. They stood at the same time. "We're in," Draco said. Marty agreed. "I want to give a good shot."

  The four founders smiled.

  "This is going to be fun," Rowena said as a bright light filled the room.

******

  The room that they met in was oppressive. It had been a month since the Dementors had tried to overtake the school - and a month had passed since Harry, Draco, Aeryn, and Marty had been discovered to be missing. The Order was quickly falling apart under the strain of worry.

  Dumbledore's eyes had failed to twinkle more than twice in those four weeks. Snape had been watching for it carefully. The first had been when they had discovered the remains of forty Dementors throughout the school after the rumblings had shaken the very foundations of the castle. The second, and it pained him to admit it, was that something Dumbledore had said had given Black a strange look on his face and stopped him from completely moping around the rooms where the meetings were held. Suffering gladly from the surcease of melodrama that had been developing around the escaped convict, Snape vowed to be deaf when the news came out.

  The Dementor attack had been swift and it looked like it had been carefully organized as well. They had been laying in wait in a not-oft used section of the castle, ready for the moment when the students would be arriving back from the winter holiday. It was only due to Draco Malfoy that the teachers had been alerted, but now the boy was missing.

  Snape was just glad that Lucius Malfoy hadn't shown up demanding to know what was going on. The last news they had heard of him was that he was currently in St. Mungo's, refusing to say anything. The Ministry, or what was left of it, had moved him there when they had found him trying to strangle himself with his robe. So far he was their only chance to prove what was really going on, since many people had chosen to believe Fudge two years ago when he denied the rise of the Dark Lord.

  His thoughts went back to Draco Malfoy. He was the last to be seen of the four by Professor McGonagall and Professor Steele. Dumbledore had last seen Potter, and Aeryn Negre, as well as Marty.

  Snape's eyes narrowed as he searched the room as Dumbledore called the meeting to order. Many shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, even though they were the best to be had in the school. He saw Potter's friends shrink as the Headmaster brought up the subject of the four that were missing. Dumbledore was very worried on this subject, as Potter seemed to be the best way of defeating Voldemort. His face twisted in a scowl as he remembered meeting with Dumbledore to discuss what he might find out in the next meeting when the Headmaster had told him he wouldn't be going back. All because of some dream of Potter's.

  Soon, though, he had found himself wondering about that dream. Potter had collapsed in front of him, clutching at his forehead much like he grabbed the Dark Mark when it glowed hotly. The boy had been in much pain and senseless. Still, he was a student, so he had carefully carried the boy to the infirmary. On the way there he had seen the scar become a scaly texture, glowing and pulsing in a strange red color. Finally Snape had had to concede on returning to spy on Voldemort when Dumbledore had threatened to make a potion that would stop him from Apparating.

  "I heard something curious today," Dumbledore said in an odd tone of voice that Snape couldn't place. "A few of the house elves discovered that several books have become missing from the library that the founders used. I also asked Madam Pince if she was having problems, and it seems that several books are missing from the Restricted Section."

  The group snapped to attention at this while the tension almost eased before it grew tighter at his next words.

  "These books all delve very deeply into the Dark Arts, many of them written by Salazar Slytherin and Merlin himself." Dumbledore gave a soft sigh. "I highly doubt it is a student who is taking them, as none of these books indicate what is actually in them. Many have disguise charms on them so that they will be overlooked as belonging to the Dark Arts."

  The group didn't know what to make of this information and Snape sat back as he watched the meeting continue. When it was over, he got ready to go when he noticed Aedyn Negre approach Dumbledore. Fawkes swooped out the doorway as well, leaving only the three of them still in the room.

  "I haven't felt her in the last month, Grandfather," the younger man was saying. "This has never happened before. Even after Mother..." Aedyn took a deep breath. "Even then I could hear a sort of static, but now it's just empty. There's nothing there."

  Snape saw Dumbledore's face whiten and felt himself grow pale. He had read of this happening, but it was always when it was the case when one twin died before the other. This information was not good, as it meant that the four were... not available to fight. No, it did not bode well at all. He watched as the Headmaster suddenly sat down in his chair, one shaking hand passing over his white face.

  "Albus?"

  Dumbledore looked up at Snape's question and nodded for him to continue.

  "Why do we need Potter to help fight other than the fact that his scar connects him to Voldemort?" he asked. Snape found that Aedyn was looking at Dumbledore curiously.

  "He is the last physical heir to Godric Gryffindor," Dumbledore finally said. He looked at the other two men, his normally pale blue eyes dark with sadness. "He also has enough power to help defeat Voldemort, but his powers won't fully develop until it would be too late. It took Gryffindor ten years to discover the extent of his powers, in much the same way that the other founders did.

  "Harry can lend us the power, but he doesn't have the strength to control it. That is why I have always let him try to do things on his own - to help him learn how to control them before they ever started to emerge."

  "The..." Aedyn finally said in the silence that had once again fallen around the room. "You don't think that the Dementors got them?"

  Dumbledore shook his head. "They would have left their bodies. And we also haven't heard anything from any of Voldemort's supporters about captives. I wouldn't be too surprised if Voldemort wouldn't hold the news that he had captured Harry go unnoticed."

  Snape nodded. "If he had the chance, he would let the entire wizarding world know that the one they've been relying on to scrape themselves out of this mess was in his hands," he said, bitterly.

  "Severus," Dumbledore chided.

  "It's true!" Snape pounded his hand on the table next to him. "They've blinded themselves to the fact that they are letting a seventeen year old child fight a man who is striving to be immortal - and has come pretty damn close to it."

  "We haven't," Aedyn said in a soft voice. "Remember that fact, Professor Snape. *We* haven't, and each of us in the order is willing to help defeat Voldemort, no matter if we have to continue without Harry... without Aeryn." His voice drifted off as he looked away from the other two men.

  Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak when Fawkes burst back into the room. The phoenix flew over and sat on the Headmaster's shoulders, bobbing his head and making strange clicking noises.

  "What is he doing?" Snape asked in a disgusted tone.

  "I have no clue," Dumbledore replied. All three men watched the bird as it flew up and started doing a strange dance in the air, whirling and weaving around invisible columns.

  A rumbling filled the room, shaking the pictures and portraits that lined the Order's main meeting room. The men looked around as they noticed that the entire castle was shaking.

  "The wards are breaking," Dumbledore said in a horrified voice. "The ones put up by the founders themselves." He stood and was just to the door when the rumbling stopped and an odd sense of peace floated through the room.

  Dumbledore looked at Snape and Aedyn in a confused way. "I don't understand. I felt them breaking but now it's as if they were just put up."

  "They were," a voice came from the wall opposite the door.

  They watched as a tall man with long, black hair stepped through the foot thick stone wall. Knowledgeable green eyes danced in a young man's face. In his hand he held a stack of books.

  "Harry!" A female's voice called from behind the stone. "Would you wait up!? I can't carry as many as you." A woman with long blond hair with pale colored streaks in it stepped through the wall. "I'm not a man, so why'd you give me this many books to carry in the first place?" She hadn't looked at the three men who were standing, slack jawed at their appearance.

  Aedyn fell to the floor, clutching his head. "Aeryn," he choked out.

  The blond woman turned. "Aedyn!" She stepped out of the shadows and they saw who it was as she ran over to the fallen man. "It's so nice to hear you again!"

  The man named Harry stepped out of the shadows and Dumbledore and Snape gasped.

  "Harry?"

  A smile sparkled on his now older face as he nodded. He winked at Dumbledore before looking back at the wall he had stepped through. "Hold on a moment," he said, laying the stack of books he was holding on the table in the center of the room. Once they were piled neatly, he strode back through the wall.

  Snape stared at the wall as Dumbledore looked over the books on the table and the ones Aeryn had set on the floor next to where she sat with Aedyn. A light appeared on his face as he figured out the mystery of the disappearing books.

  Harry walked through the wall, another stack of books in his arms. This time he was followed by a young woman, her long, brown hair with white streaks throughout it. Laughing brown eyes lit up when she caught sight of Dumbledore.

  "Harry?" the woman asked.

  "Yes, Marty?"

  "Draco's going to need some help," she said, turning her head sideways to look into the wall.

  "Sure. Right on it." Harry walked back through the wall a second time.

  "Did he just say 'Marty?'" Dumbledore asked, eyeing the young woman in front of him.

  She nodded. "That's my name, don't wear it out!"

  "Marty, that was awful," Aeryn said as she stood up. "If only I had never told you that joke." The blond woman was shaking her head, the streaks in her hair showing they were a pale blue.

  Harry walked through the wall a third time. After setting this stack of books down he came to stand in front of Dumbledore, and the three men from earlier saw that his black hair was streaked with blond and his forehead was clear.

  "Professor Dumbledore!" he finally greeted them in an excited voice. "It's so nice to see you again!"

  "Harry!" Another man's voice came through the wall. "You still gave me too much. I'm not a muscle man like you are! Git!"

  Harry laughed and they recognized it, even though it had always been rare since Voldemort's return. For a third time he strode through the wall. This time they heard a scuffling noise behind it and a few choice swear words uttered by both men.

  "You stupid prat!"

  "Git!"

  "Oh, crud," Aeryn said as she looked at the wall. She straightened her robes from where they had been mussed from sitting on the floor and strode through the wall. "Really, you two act more like children every second!"

  Her voice echoed into the room, followed by a rude noise.

  "Fine! I don't see how I've put up with you two for the last two years!" Aeryn came tearing out the wall, purple eyes flashing dangerously and huffing slightly. "Urgh...."

  She stopped when she caught the looks on the three men's faces. "What?"

  "Two years?" Dumbledore asked.

  Marty nodded. "Yeah. It takes a long time to study what we had to. Didn't you wonder where we were?"

  "A month," Aedyn slowly said. "You were gone a month."

  Marty and Aeryn looked disbelieving at each other. "A month?" Aeryn asked. "That's just not possible. I mean, we've been in that room for two years! Two years listening to those two bicker and then I've almost forgotten what being in the sun is anymore."

  Marty looked over at the wall. "Would you two just come out already?"

  Harry and a blond haired man stepped out, each with their arms filled with many more books, more than before. The blond sauntered over to the table and turned to the three men who were staring. "Hello, Professor," drawled Draco.

  Harry rolled his eyes. "Knock it off, Draco."

  The blond laughed, his red streaked hair swaying as he shook his head. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Harry."

  "Draco?" Snape was stunned. This couldn't be his student. Neither could Harry, and yet, they seemed to be.

  "I think we need to discuss this further," Dumbledore finally said. "But how can you go through the wall?"

  "What wall?" Harry asked, a confused look in his eye. "It's a doorway."

  "For better words, an arch," Aeryn added.

  At this point, Fawkes finally stopped his dance and flew over to where the four who had been missing were standing. Stopping at Harry, he sat on his shoulder, craning his neck to rub against Aeryn who stood next to him.

  "Hello, Fawkes," Harry whispered. "Nice to see you again."

  "Hello, Harry," the phoenix answered back. "Hello, Aeryn."

  She looked startled while the rest of those in the room looked shocked at Harry's voice as he went on to answer in the same ringing tones the phoenix had just done.

  "I understood that!" Aeryn exclaimed. "But how?"

  "Aeryn," began Draco. "Would you listen to your thoughts a little more carefully?"

  "Oh," she replied in a small voice. "I kinda forgot."

  "But how?" Aedyn looked between his sister, the bird and Harry. "All we heard was the phoenix song."

  "Not a song," Harry explained. "Only a few words." He turned to Aeryn. "Aeryn has found that she can understand Fawkes mentally. And the same with us. We don't even need to speak physically."

  "Just another thing from our training," said Marty. She drew their attention back to the books. "We should take care of this, don't you think?"

  Draco nodded before turning to the three men. "We can take care of this in a few minutes."

  As he finished saying this, the four disappeared and the books as well. A disembodied voice called after them to Dumbledore from nowhere,

  "We'll see you in your office, Granddad."


	11. Explanations

******

Chapter 11

Explanations

Disclaimer: Do I have to do this? It depresses me to say I don't own anybody from Harry Potter. All I can claim is the plot and a couple of characters I made up off the top of my head.

AN: Ah, humor.... The next couple of chapters are, hopefully, full of little funny tidbits. After this, though, things will get serious again, as well as depressing and dark. Though I'm starting to think I was hungry when I wrote this chapter. It's a little shorter than the others, but work was a lot more demanding this week than it normally is.

Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!!!! ^_^

******

  "Mm... Food!" An excited woman's voice was muffled as the gargoyle slid out of the way revealing the spiral staircase that led to the Headmaster's office.

  "I'll agree," came a male voice. "It feels as if I haven't eaten in two years!"

  Laughter erupted as Dumbledore, Snape and Aedyn reached the door.

  "That was a bad joke, Draco," Harry was saying as they entered the office. The three men found that there was a huge table piled with food, several of the house elves scrambling back towards the kitchens. "But this is delicious."

  "Yum!" Aeryn was heaping mashed potatoes on her plate. "Real food. Wonderful..." Her face held a look of complete and utter bliss for a brief moment before she dug in.

  "We weren't expecting you to be here for a couple of minutes," Harry said as the three took a seat. He pointed to a book on the Headmaster's desk before he turned to his plate. "I suggest you read pages 310 to 315. That will explain this a little better."

  Snape eyed the four as they ate, waiting for his turn to read the small, black book that Dumbledore had opened. It looked as though they were ravenous, almost starving.

  "Sis," Aedyn said from beside him. "What did you mean by real food?"

  Aeryn gave a smile and finished chewing her food. "Well, we kind of existed on magical food. Enough to keep our bodies alive, but in a kind of stasis so they didn't require the basic methods of upkeep."

  "Mm. Manna," Snape said, nodding his head in a slight gesture of agreement. "Many of the patients in St. Mungo's live off it because their bodies, or in some cases their minds, will not accept real food anymore."

  Marty nodded, her fork halfway up to her mouth. "But this is much better," she said as she ate the bite of meat and chewed, savoring the food.

  "Harry," Dumbledore said after a few minutes. "Has all this happened?" He held up the book for them all to see it.

  Harry nodded. "Pretty much. And its what we've been training for the last two years."

  The Headmaster nodded thoughtfully and handed the book to Snape. The Potions Master's eyes widened as he read the passage indicated, unbelieving what it said. He reread the last couple of paragraphs.

  People, like sand, drift in the waves of time. They swirl in the eddy, among the rocks and shores until they are scattered around the world. Magic is much the same way, in that it, too, has drifted from where it first was alive.

_  Magic is power, but it is also the advancement of all creatures towards the common goal of life. Those who cannot use Magic like the greats, such as Merlin, use remnants. This is how non-magical peoples live. They can heal themselves; speak in many languages, yet all have the same basic speech patterns. They have families, friends, lovers, children. All of them are headed in the same direction._

_  Those who use Magic, those who are born with the gift of using magic, have forgotten this._

_  Magic is power, yet it is the one thing that sustains life, which gives the encouragement to live._

_  Magic is power, and can corrupt even the most innocent of beings. A small child can learn to hate when refused a toy. A young man can learn to hate when rejected by their fellow. An old woman can learn to hate when abandoned by her children._

_  Those who cannot use Magic know this. Those who use it have forgotten this._

_  Magic is power, consuming everything that lies in its path if manipulated. A man will live in the darkness, refusing to acknowledge the people of the light. He will give the world a puzzle to solve, and only he holds the correct answer._

_  People can give their lives to either the light or the dark. Once given to the dark, their magic is a terrible thing, and the cost is the soul. Those that live in the darkness are already lost._

_  Magic is power, a gentle, loving touch that gives all that it can to keep its children alive and happy. It is the tender kiss given by a mother, the guiding hand of a father, and the sweetness of true love. It is the welcome found in friendship, in camaraderie, in helping others to find themselves._

_  Magic is many things and has a different meaning to every person that lives._

_  War will come._

_  Divisions in the world grow._

_  Light versus Dark. Love versus Hate. Friend versus Foe. Empathy versus Apathy._

_  Each will play a role in any one thing, in the same thing. They live and breathe in all things._

_  Magic is two sides of the same thing. It is the question and it is the answer. It can live or it can die._

_  War will come._

_  Divisions in the world grow._

_  Light versus Dark. Love versus Hate. Friend versus Foe. Empathy versus Apathy._

_  Sides will need to be chosen._

_  The Light must fight or the Dark will overtake the world. This must not happen._

_  A new age is coming, whether one side wins or the other. If the Light side can answer the riddle in time, all that lives will flourish. If the Dark wins, all that lives will perish._

_  The final battle will be upon us when the mages have spoken. The lightning mage will tell of triumph. The ice mage will tell of heartbreak. The mage of the air will tell of death. The mage of land will tell of confusion. The last mage will tell of war._

  He handed the book to Aedyn and sat still, trying to get a good grasp on the information that he had just read.

  The next ten minutes were filled with only the sounds of the four eating their dinner, the clink of silverware and goblets occasionally interrupted by a polite request for something to be passed around. Finally Aedyn finished reading the pages.

  "Aeryn, why couldn't I hear you? And what is this about the mages?" he asked in a confused voice.

  She stopped in her tracks and took a quick drink of pumpkin juice. "First, none of us quite understands what the things about the mages really means. The last mages that are known were Merlin and Morgana. Each of them had control over all the elements."

  Harry nodded. "We have no clue as to whether there are two or five mages. We can tell that there are at least two from the first sentence in that last paragraph, since 'mages' is plural."

  Aeryn went back to Aedyn's other question. "As to why you couldn't 'hear' me, well, I've a couple of theories. At first, and for the longest time, I thought that because the room we were in was magically sealed it stopped all thoughts coming in and out. After the excitement wore off I was pretty scared at not hearing you." She took another sip and continued in a thoughtful voice. "But when you indicated that we've only been missing for a month, and we were there for two years, the time difference would also come into play."

  Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. Aeryn's thoughts would be going too fast even to register, and Aedyn's were too slow."

  "That's why my head hurt then, when you stepped out of the wall," Aedyn slowly said.

  "No," Aeryn stated. "You see a wall there, while we see an arch. So it was probably a combination of both of my theories. My head hurt as well, but I was prepared for it. I knew that I would be hearing your thoughts soon." She turned back to her plate where a brownie sat. Plucking a nut off it and popping it in her mouth, she hummed. "Also, with the training we've been doing, stuff like that doesn't even bother us anymore."

  Harry nodded. "We've learned to put up with pain, any kind of pain imaginable."

  Snape's eyes narrowed. "Like what?"

  "Um," Draco began. "We pretty much hit each other with as many curses as possible and took it from there."

  "What?!" All three men jumped in surprise.

  Marty looked at them curiously. "How else are you supposed to learn to avoid a curse?" She looked at the three around the table and they all shrugged.

  Dumbledore sat back in his chair and picked up the book again from where Aedyn had set it. Tapping the spine lightly, he seemed to stare off in space. "Does this mean that the four of you have become the guardians?"

  They nodded.

  "Yes. Three days ago, and then it took two days to put the wards back up," Harry said, pushing his plate back.

  "So you were the cause of them falling in the first place," Dumbledore softly said. "How did it come to break in the first place?"

  "When our souls finally knew what we were to do and were ready, with it came the magic that has been protecting Hogwarts since it was built," Harry explained. "We needed that magic to bind everything together and then we placed it back into its proper spot."

  The three men looked at each other before Dumbledore nodded. "I see. It *would* take powerful magic like that."

  "But where were the other guardians?" Aedyn asked.

  "Here at Hogwarts," replied Draco. "They've been here all along, watching over the school. You could say that the wards were actually part of those guardians, to make it a little easier to understand. It doesn't mean that we actually have to stay here in order to protect the school or grounds."

  Aeryn nodded. "We still want to do everything that we can to help. Our energy is what protects the school. We could be on the other side of the planet, and as long as there is energy in us to give, Hogwarts will be safe."

  Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Does that mean if you were to die, the school would become endangered?"

  Harry shook his head. "The only way that would happen was if we were to willingly give up the right to protect the school. Death has no boundaries when it comes to protecting someone or something. Remember the protection my mother gave me through her death."

  The headmaster nodded as the other two men sat back in surprise.

  Marty sighed and slumped in her chair, breaking the tension that had grown over the last couple of minutes. "I'm stuffed," she said happily. She stretched her arms into the air before fighting off a yawn. "And tired." She rose from her spot and slowly made her way into the headmaster's chambers, weaving slightly in exhaustion.

  Aeryn agreed. "I could use a pillow," she groaned. "Do I even have to leave this chair?"

  Aedyn laughed. "Come on, sis. I'll help you." He stood and pulled her from the chair. He slowly dragged her to the door that led into Dumbledore's private quarters and pushed open the door. As it shut behind them, the others heard a chattering behind it, followed by Aeryn's tired voice yelling, "Circe, you can yell at me in the morning, damn it!"

  The three at the table still laughed, although Marty's laughter was tired. She slowly pushed her chair back and stood. Turning to Dumbledore, she said, "I'll sleep on the couch, if that's all right? I don't want to have to bother with making a new bed."

  He nodded and waved her in the back rooms. "Yes. I don't think you'll quite fit on that bed we used to have." When she had disappeared as well, he turned to Harry and Draco.

  "What about us, sir?" asked Harry. "I don't think that our roommates will recognize us."

  "Yes.... That is a problem." Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle as he looked towards Snape. "Severus, I believe I have a job for you."

  Snape growled. "No, Albus. Whatever it is I'm not doing it."

  Draco smirked as Harry laughed. The Headmaster's pale blue eyes lit up as a chuckle slipped past his lips. "It won't take long, Severus. All you need to do is alert the house elves to ready the second guest room in my quarters. That is all I need you to do."

  The Potions Master gave the other three a dark look before shoving himself out of his chair. "Very well, Albus." He stalked over to the door and wrenched it open.

  Dumbledore's voice stopped him as he crossed the threshold. "Yes, and make sure that they bring Harry and Draco some clothes and other necessities with them."

  Another dark look was thrown into the room as heavy footsteps that sounded remarkably like frustrated stomps went down the staircase.

******

  Harry was just getting ready for bed when he heard a shout come from the next room. He hurried over to it and found the room enveloped in a soft, yellow glow that was brighter in the middle than at the edges.

  Behind him he heard Draco as he arrived from the small bathroom that served the guest bedrooms.

  "What's going on?" Aeryn and Aedyn poked their heads out of the door as a scream came from the room where Harry and Draco stood.

  "Marty?" Harry took a step into the room and was almost overwhelmed at the intense feeling of magic surrounding him. It felt familiar, yet so uncontrollable that he felt he was in a whirlwind.

  He went in further, instinctively knowing that the others were just behind him. The glow grew brighter as another scream erupted from the middle of it, followed by a strong shockwave that almost knocked him off his feet.

  "Marty?" He called again, and this time he heard a soft whimper of pain.

  Harry was almost in the middle of the glow when he tripped over something. Blindly reaching out, he recognized the shape his hands touched. "Marty!"

  The woman on the floor didn't respond as another shockwave shot out through the room.

  "Wake up, Marty!"

  Harry felt a presence next to him. By the feel of it, it was Draco. "Help me get her on the bed."

  They were halfway there when the glow suddenly disappeared, leaving them all blinded by the darkness that followed in its wake. When Harry could see again, and Marty was safely resting on the narrow bed, he looked at the others.

  "What was that?"

  The three blonds shook their heads.

  "Don't look at me," Draco finally said. "We should asked Dumbledore about it."

  "What should you ask me?" A voice from the doorway spoke.

  The four of them whipped their heads around very fast to find the headmaster in a strange looking nightgown and cap.

  "Granddad," Aeryn began. "Marty... she was..." She took a deep breath, but Aedyn continued,

  "She was in this glowing ball."

  "Hm." Dumbledore looked at all of them. "What color was it?"

  "Yellow," Harry answered.

  The pale blue eyes twinkled, briefly a little more than usual, before going back. "I believe that it's called a surge."

  "Surge?" Aedyn asked.

  "Oh!" Aeryn looked at them. "Is it anything like an electrical surge, where all of a sudden there's this big burst of energy?"

  Dumbledore nodded. "Except in this case, I have the idea that Marty's body is trying to adjust the reality of her magic. The reason why it's so intense is that she has many years to catch up on. I'm rather surprised that it's taken so long for this to happen."

  "Why?" Draco asked.

  Four confused faces looked at Dumbledore as he formulated an answer.

  "When everything started, you aged to Aeryn's age, correct?"

  She, Harry, and Draco nodded.

  "Well then, Marty did as well. However, she had yet to use much of her power at all, whereas you, Harry and Draco, were almost to the point where you are, or would have if this hadn't had happened. She has had to gain twenty years worth a magic in a short time, and her body doesn't know what to do with it."

  Draco nodded. "I think I see what you're talking about. The moment we stepped into real time again, our bodies went back to normal. Because of this, our magic started to flow in their regular patters. But, since Marty was too young to use her magic before, she has to catch up."

  "That makes sense," Aeryn said.

  Dumbledore looked from the four standing to the one on the bed. "I suggest you get a good nights sleep, and we can discuss this in the morning."

  Harry nodded, suddenly a lot more tired than he had felt even ten minutes ago. Together, he and Draco made it to the room they had been given for the night. He wished the other man a good night and knew nothing more for the rest of the night.

******

A/N: Sorry about the prophecy. I guess I was feeling a little... strange.


	12. New Faces, Old Names - Part 1

******

Chapter 12

New Faces, Old Names – Part 1

Disclaimer: I own Dumbledore's family, Marty and Circe. Everything else is the figment of JK Rowling's talented imagination.

AN: Well, here's the reunion (of sorts) with Sirius. Harry and the others will be meeting up with the rest of the school in the next two parts – first the teachers, then their friends and the students.

I know this is a little later than I would usually update, but I went to see my Grandma for Mother's Day. Other than she kept telling me not to sell my car (she thinks its worth money, but only rust is holding it together) it was nice to see her and the rest of my family. Not to mention we had KFC! (Mm. I think its time for another biscuit with honey.)

Thanks to everybody who has reviewed!!! *jumps for joy* It's greatly appreciated. ^_^

******

  Harry opened one eye wearily as he felt his shoulder nudged. It was still dark out, and dawn had yet to approach by the looks outside the small window on his right.

  "Harry?"

  The other eye opened as he saw Aeryn standing by the side of his bed. He sat up as he saw the worried look on her face.

  "What is it?"

  Aeryn gestured at the bed and Harry nodded before she sat down on the edge. "Um..."

  Harry looked over at the other bed in the room to find it empty. "Where's Draco?"

  "That's what I have to tell you." She gave a soft sigh before she gave him a considering look. "You were sleeping so hard you missed a lot of excitement, Harry."

  He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

  "Marty had another of those attacks about half an hour ago."

  "Another one?" Harry asked. "How bad was it?"

  Aeryn shook her head. "Not as bad as the first one, but Draco and Aedyn took her down to see Madam Pomfrey. You were sleeping so fitfully, but none of us could wake you up."

  Harry looked at the window for a brief second before his eyes went back to Aeryn. "Where's Dumbledore?"

  "One of the order members called about an hour after we went to bed. A couple of death eaters were in Muggle London." She shrugged her shoulders in a sleepy gesture. "The Ministry was there with some Aurors, but it'll take a while to straighten everything out. The only reason that they stopped was because Arabella was nearby."

  He nodded his head. "Did they need any help?"

  "No. Granddad wanted me to wake you up to see if you had any dreams..." She hesitated at the look on his face. "I didn't want to, but he wanted to know if Voldemort had anything to do with the attack tonight."

  Harry looked at her in astonishment. "You said his name!"

  She gave him a look that said he wasn't quite all there. "Yes. Why shouldn't I?"

  He scowled at her. "Because Dumbledore and I seem to be the only ones around here who can actually say the name." She opened her mouth to say something but he continued, "Oh, everybody in the order is getting used to hearing his name - at least nobody flinches at the sound of it anymore - but it's not the same as saying it."

  Aeryn frowned. "But I also didn't grow up under the threat of him. Voldemort rarely had anything to do at all in the States, so it wasn't such a big deal over there as it was here. And, by the time I was seven, he was gone."

  "And then he comes back..." Harry sighed at the thought. "But no, Voldemort was nowhere in my dreams."

  A friendly pat on his shoulder pulled his thoughts back to Aeryn. "Cheer up! Things will look better in the morning," she reassured him with a smile.

  He gave her a considering look before nodding. "Maybe I'll get to see Ron and Hermione then."

  A cough from the doorway interrupted them and they both turned their heads quickly in that direction to find Draco lounging in against the doorjamb.

  "Dumbledore says that we should wait a little bit before we see any of our friends," the blond man said as he entered the room.

  "Why?" Harry asked as he shifted on his bed, disappointed at the news.

  "To see if we don't have a reaction like Marty's been having," the blond man replied. "It makes sense, since our powers have changed. I don't think that he wants to take the chance that something could go wrong and somebody will get hurt."

  Harry and Aeryn nodded their agreement.

  "How long do you think we'll have to wait?" the black haired man asked as Draco climbed into the previously empty bed and sat stiffly against the headboard.

  "From what he and Madam Pomfrey were talking about, probably a week."

  "Good. From what Madam Pomfrey usually wants, it would have been more like a month than a week." Harry couldn't wait to see his friends. He just wondered what they would think of his new appearance. For that matter, he just hoped Sirius and Remus wouldn't be too freaked out that he looked more like this mother than his father now.

  A gigantic yawn broke his thoughts. "Draco, did Aedyn leave?"

  Harry looked at Aeryn as the other man nodded. "An owl came for him while we were down in the infirmary. The Ministry was calling him to help down in London."

  "Oh." She looked defeated. "I was hoping to spend a little more time with him."

  "Aeryn," Harry softly said. "You'll get to see him soon. He'll be back for the next meeting if he can, and probably sooner if he gets the chance."

  She gave a small smile. "Thanks, Harry." She gave another yawn and pushed off the bed. "I'll see you when it's a little lighter out, guys."

  Harry slumped back into the sheets as she left the room.

  "Harry?"

  He looked over at Draco, who was still sitting up in bed. "What?"

  "How long do you think it'll take for You-Know-Who to find out about us?"

  Harry sighed. "I have no idea. But, I think it will be soon."

******

  "What is this, Albus?" McGonagall's voice was raised as she paced the office of the headmaster two days later. "You're telling me that this is Harry Potter and that's Draco Malfoy?"

  Dumbledore nodded as he plucked a lemon drop out of the small container at one corner of his desk. His eyes twinkled at the two young men who were seated before him as the deputy headmistress walked back and forth within the small space. "I assure you that they are, Minerva. They will be staying on and helping us with our efforts against Voldemort."

  A shiver ran down McGonagall's spine, all three men noticing it. "Have you explained this to the governors, then?"

  The old man nodded once more as he offered the small dish to Harry and Draco. As both shook their heads in the negative, he sat back in his plush chair and folded his hands in a thoughtful gesture. "I have, and none of them objected to the terms I put forth."

  "What were those, sir?" Harry asked.

  Dumbledore smiled. "You don't have to call me that anymore, Harry. Please, call me 'Albus.'" Another twinkle sparked through his eyes as he watched the younger men shift uncomfortably at this notion. Most of his former students reacted the same way when he invited them to see him as an equal rather than a teacher or parent-figure.

  He saw McGonagall's face and hurried on. "Both gentlemen have been granted their wizarding licenses, as well as having passed twenty NEWTs for both of them."

  "Twenty?" Three voices chorused together in astonishment.

  "Twenty?" McGonagall repeated. "That is a new record. They beat your record of eighteen, Albus."

  Dumbledore nodded, obviously pleased with the results of the tests he had given the day before. "Yes. Still, I think that Ms. Granger, when the time comes later this year, will tie my score and try for theirs."

  "I can see Hermione doing that," Harry agreed.

  "What is the rest of that?" Draco asked. "There has to be more than just the tests you gave us."

  "Yes," the headmaster agreed. "I would like both of you to help with a dueling class I would like to offer. The older students will definitely need to use such skills as the battles against Voldemort and his Death Eaters increase. It's with the hope that they can defend themselves against such situations as what has happened within the last week that the governors feel such a thing is necessary. Granted, with the scores you boys got on your NEWTs impressed them as well."

  Harry and Draco smiled at each other before the blond asked, "You said to help. Who else is going to be teaching?"

  "I've already asked Aeryn and Marty to teach. Marty, though, is to take her NEWTs three days from now, as the governors requested she take the OWLs earlier today. Once she has been granted her license, everything will be set. At that time we will re-introduce you to the school."

  Draco's eyes narrowed slightly as Harry nodded. "So, what do the governors really feel about this?" the blond asked.

  McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "I would like to know that as well, Albus."

  Dumbledore gave each a steady look. "Now that the Ministry has accepted that full war has been declared by Voldemort, as well as the fact that Arthur Weasley will probably be the next Minister, the governors wish for the students to learn all they can to help. They are also hopeful that many of the seventh years will train to help the fight when they leave in June. They also feel that the dueling class will help them learn more things than they normally would in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Steele will help all that she can, but she will often not be here."

  "Why won't she?" asked McGonagall.

  "I have asked her to request help from some unlikely allies, and it will take some time. In the meantime, Aeryn will be substituting, since she is the most familiar with teaching in a classroom setting. This had been arranged before the four of you disappeared." He looked at Harry and Draco for a moment before he went on. "The dueling class will be different, since there will be the four of you to help teach." He looked at the young men in front of him. "When Marty has been granted her license, I will discuss in more detail what will be expected of you when you teach the class. In the meantime, maybe some practice will take the impatience off that you may experience as you wait to see your friends."

  "Si – Albus," Harry stammered, his tongue tripping over the uneasiness of using the headmaster's first name. "When will Sirius and Remus be back?"

  Dumbledore chuckled. "They will be here tomorrow. Both of them told me earlier this afternoon that they had finished their assignment and were returning for a little rest."

  "Good," Harry stated emphatically. "They need to know as soon as possible."

  Draco fidgeted as the other two men smiled at each other. Next to him, McGonagall showed signs of restlessness as well.

  Pale blue eyes twinkled merrily. "I don't think that there is anything else for the moment," he said as he rose. "Now, I believe that it is almost dinner time." He turned to McGonagall. "Both of these young men will be introduced Friday at the staff meeting after dinner. Until then, I would like only the heads of houses to know about these four."

  McGonagall nodded briskly and left the headmaster's office.

  "While you are waiting for dinner, you may want to explore your quarters a little more. They were once used by one of the headmasters about three hundred years ago."

  Harry looked at him curiously. "Why haven't they been used since then?"

  Dumbledore ushered them to the door. "They were considered too far away from the rest of the castle. I believe it often took both students and teachers twenty minutes for the walk. As well as that consideration, I choose those particular rooms since there are no secret passages anywhere near there. It will be hard for anyone to sneak up on the four of you. Now, I believe that Professors Flitwick and Snape have finished administering the OWLs to Marty, and Aeryn will want to join you in your explorations."

  Harry and Draco looked at each other for a second before they left.

  "What do you think of that?" Harry asked once they were on the other side of the gargoyle. The two men turned to the right and began down a maze of hallways.

  One pale blond eyebrow lifted. "I'd say he had plans and we took too long."

  Black hair fell into his face as Harry shook his head. "Not about that. I mean, what about the fact that the governors are so accommodating?"

  Draco sent a thoughtful stare in his direction. "If you had asked that question before everything happened, I would have said you were actually using your brain for once."

  Harry glared at him as he laughed.

  "No," the blond said as his laughter died down. "I won't go back to that. As to the question, I think that the threat Hogwarts may eventually be attacked has given them some motivation. It also helps that Lucius is not around to 'help' them think."

  "Yes," Harry agreed. "That would make them willing to protect their investment in the school." He turned to Draco as they went down another corridor. "What do you think will happen to Lucius?"

  Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I think that my mother is the only person to handle it at the moment. She is married to him, after all. It also depends on what the Ministry has to say if he is sane enough to stand trial."

  "Sane enough?" Harry asked.

  "Since the move to St. Mungo's, his condition has deteriorated. The last letter my mother sent – while we were still in the room – said that he's been confined to the same ward as Longbottom's parents."

  Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Poor Neville."

  "Hm. Yes. Now I understand why he's like that." Draco stopped just before the entrance to the corridor their room occupied. "He tries to be as unlike them as possible, unconsciously, so that the same thing can't happen to him."

  "That sounds almost like you've been reading Muggle psychiatry books, Draco."

  The blond laughed. "I guess it might, but there are some things that only a Slytherin would learn. It's tough to survive in that house without learning some the of the weaknesses and strengths of those around you."

  Harry looked at him. "Why, Draco, you sound positively sentimental."

  The other man frowned. "Harry, don't be an ass."

  Harry raised his hands in mock surrender. "You're the one that tries to be one every once in a while."

  Draco really glared at him. "Since when?"

  "Yesterday." Harry laughed as Draco's face fell at the mention of the NEWTs. "See, if you weren't such an ass and trying to compete with me, you might not have gotten so many."

  Grey eyes darted past green for a split second before they returned. "Very well, Harry. Point taken."

  Harry laughed again. "Potter, 1. Malfoy, 0."

  "Oh, shut up," Draco muttered as they entered their room.

******

  Sirius hopped from foot to foot as he and Remus stood in front of the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office.

  "Snuffles," admonished Remus as the big, black dog pranced with impatience.

  'Snuffles' growled deep in his throat as the stone rolled back and the steps were revealed. When the headmaster had revealed to them that Harry was safe and returned, the two of them had hurried back as fast as they could to reach the school. In fact, they had made better time than they had estimated, as it was early morning and the first class of the day had just started.

  "Ah, Sirius, Remus. Welcome," greeted Dumbledore as they met him at the top of the stairs. "Please, sit! Harry will be here in a little bit. Right now he's in the library researching a couple of things for the next meeting of the order. I didn't mention that you were here to see him just yet."

  Sirius reappeared and took a seat, looking as if he really wanted to remain standing. He couldn't wait to see his godson again, especially since he'd been missing for just over a month.

  Remus saw that his friend wasn't in the mood for talking, so he went ahead and told Dumbledore the specifics of the mission they had just finished. With the information they had gathered, there was a good chance that one of the camps Voldemort was using to train new Death Eaters would be able to be destroyed by the order.

  Dumbledore looked at the two men in front of him. "I have a couple of things to tell you, though, about what happened to Harry and the others."

  "Is he okay?" Sirius asked. "I know you said that he was fine yesterday, but that sentence just made me worry a little more than I have been."

  "He's fine, Sirius," the headmaster reassured him. The two men seated on the other side of the desk both sighed in relief.

  "Then what is it, Albus?" Remus asked.

  "Harry has developed stronger powers in the time that he was missing. At full strength I should say. Even more that what James would have been if he had lived a little longer."

  All three men were silent at the reminder of the Potters.

  "But," Dumbledore finally continued, "while he was gone, something made him mature a lot quicker than normal."

  "Did something happen?" Sirius asked, anxiety written on his face.

  Dumbledore opened his mouth to answer when the sound of the gargoyle moving alerted them to somebody entering the office. Sirius went back to his animagus form as the stairs could be heard moving up.

  "Albus?"

  Remus started. For a second there it had sounded like James the last time he had heard him. He watched as a tall, black haired man opened the door and walked forward. The man faced him fully and he sucked in a breath.

  It was Harry, but he was quite a bit different than the last time he had seen him during the holidays. He was a blend of his mother's eyes and chin, the green orbs no longer hidden by the glasses so reminiscent of James. But what startled him the most was the absence of the lightning-shaped scar that had been so much of his appearance.

  Sirius popped back into his natural form and gawked for a couple of seconds. The next he was swiftly moving towards Harry. "Thank god you're okay!"

  Harry laughed and returned the embrace of his godfather. He shot a look at Remus, then at Dumbledore. "How many times did he ask if I was okay?"

  Sirius pulled back, a mock-hurt look on his face as the other two men laughed.

  "Too many times, Harry," Remus answered as he stood. The older man found that Harry was now taller than him, an inch taller than what his father had been. The two shook hands before the three men settled down into chairs.

  Dumbledore smiled at them. "I believe that I will let Harry explain everything that has happened. I'm afraid that I would forget something if I told it."

  Harry laughed. "I think that *I* will forget something." He looked at the two men, his green eyes a little brighter now that they were not hidden behind the black oval frames of his glasses. "It started when I felt the chill of Dementors...."

  An hour and a half later, Sirius slumped back into his chair, a totally surprised look in his eyes. Remus looked stunned as Harry finally stopped talking.

  "Wow," Sirius finally breathed.

  Harry gave a small laugh. "You're not kidding." He looked at the desk and found Dumbledore had left sometime during his explanation. A glance at the small clock on the wall told that it was nearing lunchtime, as well as a rumbling from his stomach. Raising a sheepish face, he gave a bashful grin. "I think its time for lunch."

  Sirius and Remus both laughed, breaking the tension that had formed in the room.

  "I think that Albus is probably ready to get his office back as well," Remus said as he stood. He gave a swift glance at Sirius, who rolled his eyes before resuming his doggy form. "Shall we?"

  Harry nodded. "For lunch, I'll show you where I'll be staying and we can eat there."

  "Sounds good, Harry."


	13. New Faces, Old Names - Part 2

******

Chapter 13

New Faces, Old Names – Part 2

Disclaimer:  *going into rant mode* Why do I have to keep on saying that I don't own Harry Potter? I'm pretty sure that most of the world knows that *I* don't.

AN: Here's the meeting with the teachers and a little family reunion – of sorts.

******

  Snape eyed the creature that sat in front of him as he waited for the weekly staff meeting to begin. Off to one side he could hear giggling, but was choosing to ignore it. A long, lion's tail twitched slightly at the end as it lay curled around its haunches as it sat politely. The strange thing about it though was that it was purring.

  His brows furrowed when he heard the giggles grow into a full-fledge laugh as Hagrid came into the staff room. The caretaker and Care of Magical Creatures instructor lent a jovial air to the meeting room when he caught sight of the Potions Master being stared down by the small creature in front of him.

  "Never seen a kneazel before, Snape?" he bellowed. He laughed some more at the scowl that crossed the other man's face.

  Snape never took his eyes off the small thing in front of him, even at Hagrid's remark. He refused to let the creature get the best of him.

  "Circe." The whisper came from right behind him, almost startling Snape off his chair when the creature rose to all four feet and padded to one side of him. He could still hear the purring, and it was starting to disturb him. "Circe, I see you have the good grace to like Severus," the voice whispered again.

  Snape turned to find Aeryn sitting next to him, the kneazel wrapped around her shoulders like a stole. She had a tiny grin on her face as she leaned forward. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

  One black eyebrow raised in an affronted arch. "I have no secret that you know," he deigned to reply.

  "Then why does she like you and not some of the others here?" Aeryn whispered again.

  Snape looked around and found that none of the others in the room were even paying attention to their conversation, especially when it became apparent that the battle between Snape and the kneazel was over. "Excuse me?"

  "Oh, you're excused." The tiny grin grew wider. "Tell me, Severus, why did you ever think I wouldn't find out about you?"

  Black eyes bored into her face. What was she talking about? Snape eyed her carefully when he noted his glare had no effect on her. "You wouldn't find out about my past? I'm certain that it is common knowledge by now that I have, at certain times in the past, betrayed both the Light and Dark sides of the war we are fighting."

  Aeryn's face turned sad and the twinkle in her strangely purple eyes dimmed. She shook her head and gave him a fierce, serious look. "I didn't mean about that, Severus." Her voice was lower than it had been half a minute ago. "I was talking about the fact that the four of us trust you."

  Snape's eyes snapped to her face from the floor where he had been glaring at nothing in particular. "What?!"

  The room grew quiet at his exclamation, once again drawing everyone's attention to the Potions Master. He stared at them balefully when he noticed Dumbledore trying to hide a laugh inside a slight cough to turn the staff's attention to him.

  "Thank you, Severus, for gaining everybody's attention."

  Snape glared at the Headmaster, who's eyes twinkled merrily.

  Dumbledore cleared his throat. "By now, you may have noticed we now have two former students here with us," he said as the rest of the staff looked at Harry and Draco, who smiled, embarrassed. "I have spoken with some members of the Ministry and they've agreed to grant them their licenses a little early, as they have demonstrated a great depth of knowledge. Earlier in the week they took last year's version of the NEWTS and passed with flying colors. In fact, both Harry and Draco gained twenty NEWTs. Marty took them yesterday and passed as well."

  Flitwick spoke up. "But, how did they age so much?"

  The rest of the instructors murmured their agreement with the question.

  Dumbledore turned to Harry and Draco. "Will you please explain?"

  Draco nodded. "The two of us were chosen to help protect this school. Since we were younger, it was felt that we wouldn't be able to withstand the amount of power needed to do so."

  "Chosen to protect?" Sinistra asked. "As teachers we have also been granted this honor of protecting the school. Why would two students have been chosen?"

  "Because the school chose us to be two of the new guardians," Harry answered.

  The room sat in silence for a brief moment before many of the teachers started talking at once.

  "But why did all of this happen? And when?" asked Professor Sprout.

  "They will explain, Flora, if you ask them," Dumbledore replied. The rest of the teachers knew that he would not be the one who gave out the story. "Now, then. I would like it if you helped Marty, Poppy. She needs some hands-on training in healing. Marty knows the theory, but it is difficult to help with no practical experience. The other three are willing to help if you need it. All I ask is to let Aeryn know, as she will be substituting for Professor Steele for the next week."

  The teachers' eyes looked at the DADA teacher, who stared impassively at Aeryn. Seeing no reaction they turned their attention back to the headmaster.

  "I will be giving the announcement about the dueling club at dinner tomorrow night." Dumbledore looked around the room. "If there is nothing left to talk about, then I think this meeting is adjourned."

  Snape stayed in his seat, waiting for the room to clear out. He didn't feel particularly happy about what Dumbledore was planning. Even now he still had flashbacks to the dueling club that Lockhart had tried to start and he had been roped into it. Potter had stolen the spotlight back then.... He rethought that. In the seven years he had been teaching The Boy Who Lived, he had rarely ever seen him at least try to take the spotlight, and that was only on the Quidditch pitch.

  "Severus?" He looked over to see Aeryn still seated next to him in the now empty room.

  "What is it?" He snapped back at her.

  "Did you do any more research on that potion?" She was eyeing him curiously as she waited for his answer.

  Snape gave her a steady look. "No. I regretfully did not have time to devote to the project. However, the ingredient that we were waiting for did arrive last week."

  Aeryn jumped out of her seat, startling the sleeping kneazel on her shoulders.  Snape eyed the blond woman carefully. He shot a glare at her, which didn't seem to faze her at all. Instead, her eyes twinkled remarkably like Dumbledore's when he was greatly amused. Dark thoughts briefly passed through his mind as he stared at her, willing for her to leave his presence. He was in the mood to sitting brooding for a while without having to move.

  "Do you mind?" he finally asked in an icy voice.

  "Don't mind if I do," Aeryn said. She raised one eyebrow at him before looking over the various books that were shelved haphazardly on in a bookcase on the far end of the staff room. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a question. First, I need something to eat." She turned to the fire a couple of feet from where their chairs sat and said something Snape couldn't quite hear.

  Aeryn stopped as a tray appeared through the fire. Standing up, she grabbed a hold of it and spoke through the fire once more, "Thanks, Dobby!" She turned and set the tray on one corner of a desk she transfigured from her chair and pulled another chair up to it and sat down in that.

  "Here you go, Severus. I don't mind if you share." She picked up a small plate of toast and the jam, ignoring the slight huff of frustration that escaped Snape. Eyeing her warily, he cautiously sat down in his chair and grabbed a fork. Stabbing into a random piece of meat he watched her spread the jam on the bread.

  "What do you want," he demanded to know.

  "How far have you gotten on that Silmaron potion?" Aeryn asked the question again, more seriously than she had a few minutes ago. Her eyes weren't twinkling like they had. Instead, they were fiercely intent. "I've been trying to ask you for the last week, but you've been avoiding all of us, other than helping Granddad with the testing." Aeryn sighed softly. "I don't mean to be annoying, but I want to restart what we began working on."

  Snape's eyes narrowed for a minute as he watched her eat in an absentminded manner. He knew she was serious about this. "Very well. After breakfast tomorrow."

  She gave a cheeky smile. "I'll make sure to wake up extra early to be bright and cheerful when the time comes, Severus!"

  He opened his mouth to answer but she was already out the door. The trait to leave in the middle of a conversation – and leaving without giving him the chance to say anything more – was definitely inherited from Dumbledore.

******

  Harry had eyed the DADA teacher all the way through the staff meeting. Ever since they had gotten back from the room, most of the teachers hadn't known about their reappearance. The strange thing about Professor Steele was that she still seemed unconcerned for her younger sister to pop back so suddenly. No emotion had shown across her face. Only her eyes had given a reaction. They had shone that strange gold color that they had when she looked at him.

  There was something he could do until tomorrow morning. He was starting to get a bit impatient to see Ron and Hermione, enough that it was driving Draco mad. Marty and Aeryn weren't as familiar with his habits – even after sharing that same room for two years.

  He walked into the library that had been attached to the suite. The four of them had decided that they would enhance it with several of the books they had studied in the room, which had led to a lot of laughing as they remembered some of the things they had tried. His mind drifted from the book he was searching for to what had happened those first couple of weeks they had been in the room.

  After the newness of the room had worn off, they had found that they didn't necessarily crave food. Well, their bodies didn't, but sometimes their minds would trick them into wanting food. The founders had then instructed them about the manna they had eaten, and also how to cope with it – after all, their bodies were essentially in stasis. The only thing they really needed was sleep, since their brains needed to rest.

  It was funny how they reacted in the real world. All four of them had been comfortable sharing the same room, but it was a lot different now. Harry laughed as he remembered waking up this morning and heard Draco mumbling something about a teddy, which the other man had vehemently denied when they were eating breakfast. He made a note in the back of his mind to ask some of Draco's friends about that little tidbit when he got the chance.

  Finally, he found the book he was looking for. Settling down into a comfy chair in a corner of the room, Harry read for a while before his thoughts strayed back to Professor Steele. Aeryn had said that she was going to talk to her sister for a little, to both see how she was doing and to get the materials that she would need to teach next week.

  From everything he had seen so far, from regular classes to the extra help he had been receiving up until the winter holiday, he was starting to think that she wasn't acting quite herself. Aeryn had tried to talk to her before the meeting, but the older woman had barely said more than two sentences to her before taking a seat. Professor Steele had also been watching Aeryn when she talked to Snape. The DADA teacher hadn't wanted to come to their rooms to see it, either.

  Harry wondered if his thinking was a little skewed from knowing that his former DADA teacher was a full-blooded elf, but he knew that it couldn't be just that. He was more inclined to think a little higher of her for actually coming to the school to teach in the first place. Aeryn had told them that most elves looked down on the entire human population, and it didn't matter if had magic or not. Human magic was far less powerful than Elven magic, and since it needed the use of tools in it – wands, tarot cards (Harry had snickered at this and thought Draco had as well) – it was considered sub par. Elven magic was wandless in its entirety.

  That had intrigued the other three, and they had wanted to know if she could teach it to them or if they couldn't do it at all. Aeryn had agreed to teach them, especially as the founders had found the subject to be well worth the effort. Elven magic *was* powerful, and anything that they could use within the boundaries they had set for themselves to defeat Voldemort would be put to use.

  In the end, only Harry had been able to produce anything worth going further for. Salazar had then suggested that somewhere in his family he had an Elven ancestor. Elven magic was in the blood. It wasn't like human magic, where it could be in a muggle-born person, or totally disappear in a person who was from a pureblood family. Helga had told them that one of her childhood friends had been from a family that was descended from an Elf, and their wandless magic had been much better than most other's.

  From that their discussion had led them to different types of wandless magic. Aeryn and Harry had shown Draco and Marty what they had been doing before the Dementors had come. It wasn't Elven, but it was much harder than they had been doing. Godric had admitted that he had been too lazy to practice, so he had joked as the rest of them worked hard – at least until Rowena had tried to banish him from the room for a while. That incident had also been the turning point in how they worked together. Up until that point, it had been the founders teaching the four of them. Now it was a joint learning experience as they tried to move beyond certain points in magic.

  They knew it was very likely that Voldemort had studied at lot of wandless magic when he had undergone his transformation from Tom Riddle into Voldemort. There was almost fifteen years between the disappearance of the Head Boy and the first strike by the Dark Lord, a lot of time in which to gather a lot of information and put it to use. The transformations he underwent also indicated a strong background in the use of wandless magic.

  All of that was why he was looking at the book in his hands. It was supposed to have been written by a wizard that had been captured by some elves more than seven hundred years ago. The elves had wanted to study human magic, and as time went on, the wizard had learned a lot of what made Elven magic so unique. Skimming through the book, Harry saw that there were several things in it they had discussed when talking about Elven magic.

  Aeryn had told them that this magic was untraceable by human magical means. This had led to the suggestion by Draco that Tom Riddle may have met with some more of the unscrupulous elves in eastern Europe, where it was believed Riddle had transformed into Voldemort. Aeryn had shot down that theory, since elves that tried to work against nature, i.e. using Dark magic, were no longer considered elves. Their bodies would undergo a horrific transformation. The end result was an orc, like the creature she had brought into the last DADA class before Christmas.

  Draco had still tried to argue about Riddle meeting with such a creature, but Salazar had shot down that theory. He had told all of them that an orc only followed their own way, or if necessary banded together to fight and then separated once again. Even a powerful human such as Riddle would have not been interesting enough to keep an orc from killing him.

  Harry jumped as the door to the library shut loudly. He looked over to find Aeryn walking towards him at a fast clip. "What's the matter?"

  She snorted as she slumped into the twin of the chair Harry was seated in. "El couldn't be bothered by me, not even enough to give me the things I'll need for class on Monday."

  A black eyebrow went up as green eyes widened. "She didn't want to talk to you?" he asked, surprised.

  Aeryn shook her head. "No." A scowl crossed her face before she stared out the window at the half-moon that lay near the horizon. "My own sister can't even say more than two words to me, even after I've been missing for a month."

  "What about your dad and brother?"

  She looked at him quickly before turning back to the window. "I owled them this afternoon." Aeryn shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe El found that out and she's mad at me for being the last one to know I'm still alive."

  Harry doubted that, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned back into the chair and went back to his book. He didn't understand how families were supposed to work, but he was determined that after Voldemort was gone he would start trying. Until then, he had enough on his hands.

  He had almost finished the chapter he was reading when he heard Aeryn sigh. Looking up, he saw that she had curled up in the chair and was still looking out the window. She had a frown on her face.

  "Aeryn? What's the matter?"

  She looked over at him, her face sad. "I was just thinking about my family. What if old Voldie found out about Ray? I mean, we know he can't stand Granddad, so what if he decides to take out his family?"

  Harry leaned forward, shocked. He hadn't thought of that angle before. "I don't know. We should tell Dumbledore about that, so that your brothers and dad can be alert to anything out of the ordinary," he suggested.

  Aeryn looked skeptical. "Aedyn already does that. I'm not worried as much about him as I am about Ray. The school's pretty well protected – much like Hogwarts is, so I'm not worried about Dad in that respect. Ray goes to a day-school, so he goes home every night. He's much more vulnerable than the rest of us."

  "Day-school? For secondary education?" Harry was puzzled. For something as important as a magical education they went home each evening?

  "Yes," Aeryn answered. "He goes to Salem Academy, which isn't all that far from Boston, so most of the students just Floo there. Ray and his mother's family live in Salem, so he basically just walks there."

  "What about protection? I mean, people don't think it strange about the school?"

  She shook her head. "In the US, you still have to complete a basic Muggle education. Part of the school is enchanted, and that's where a student learns their magical education. Salem, in particular, is one of the best, since it's the second-oldest school in the States. Only the school were Aedyn and I went is the oldest. Bradsford Magical Academy."

  "Bradsford..." Harry remembered Hermione saying something about the school, but he couldn't think what it was exactly. It had something to do with dragons. He asked the question floating in his mind.

  Aeryn laughed. "We're called the dragons because there is a pod of Opaleyes not far from the school. They like the mountainous terrain where the school is, so if they are out, the students are in."

  "It wouldn't be good if a student got ate, huh?" Harry chuckled at his joke as Aeryn joined him.

  "No. It wouldn't." Aeryn looked behind him at the clock. "Thanks, Harry. I didn't mean to pull you from your book, but this helped."

  "No problem," Harry replied. He stood and stretched, still holding on to the book. "About ready for bed?"

  Aeryn nodded. "Yes. I'm going to start working again with Severus on that potion after breakfast, so I want to make sure I get enough sleep."

  Harry shook his head as the two of them crossed the empty hallway into the large bedroom. He thought that she was braver than most people, trying to put up with Snape's horrible temper. He certainly wasn't up to that much courage.

  Quickly getting ready for bed, he laid down and looked at the canopy stretched over the four posts of the bed. The gold material seemed to shimmer in the moonlight that had found its way through the curtains of the bed. Mentally tracing patterns in the cloth, Harry tried to calm his excitement in finally seeing his friends again. He just hoped that they would take the news as well as Remus and Sirius, although he wasn't sure about those two taking it as well. Even Dumbledore still didn't know what they could do.

AN2:  It's vacation time, so it will be two weeks before I can update again. All this week I will be far from a decent telephone line, but it means being on the jet-ski!


	14. New Faces, Old Names - Part 3

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Chapter 14

New Faces, Old Names – Part 3

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but my own characters. Don't make me say this again.

AN: For everybody who's been asking when will Harry and Draco finally get to see their friends again – here it is!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody who has reviewed! *does a happy dance* Plus, as a reward for my not updating last week (the water was cold, the jet ski's motor wouldn't start, but the weather was perfect for building sandcastles with my six-year old cousin's daughter), there's two chapters!

******

  The Gryffindor common room was normally noisy on a Friday night, but for the last month it had been relatively quiet. Most of the students had felt the loss of one of their own, and they weren't quite sure what to make of it. The seventh years were having the hardest time adjusting to the loss of their year mate.

  Since Harry had gone missing, Hermione hadn't even hounded Ron once about studying for the NEWTs. He hadn't noticed this absence of his friend's train of thought until this past week, when he had started to think a little more like normal. He still missed his friend a lot, but he knew he would have to start living like he had been before Christmas. So, for the last week, he had been trying his best to go on with school in his regular manner. If only Hermione had begun to do the same.

  In the past week, he had noticed that Hermione was almost clinging to him. He had been irritated at it at first, but now as they sat around the common room on this abysmal Friday night, it finally made sense to him. His friend was making sure she didn't lose him like Harry. She was afraid that he would disappear just like their friend.

  Her actions also made him think what had happened between them in fifth year. They had tried to date each other, and really cared for the other, but it hadn't worked out. Ron wasn't sure what had really made him look, but he remembered the look on Hermione's face when she had confronted him over what was happening. It was only then that he had noticed how alienated the two of them had become, from both each other and from Harry. He had been so caught up in having *someone* like him for just himself that he hadn't realized he had changed. A little too much change in the long run.

  Thinking back on it now, he knew that he had tried too hard to make a relationship – a romantic relationship – work between Hermione and himself. They were still too young to really know what they wanted out of life, plus there was the threat of Voldemort hanging over them.

  A sigh escaped him as he pulled himself back from his racing mind, but there was no one around to notice. Ron found the common room had emptied while he was deep in his own thoughts. Even Hermione had found her way to bed, which he should seriously be thinking about as well.

  He couldn't though. It was too painful to stare at the empty bed next to his. He wished Harry were here, right beside him at this very instant. He missed joking with his best friend, being jealous of him, being afraid for him. Ron just *missed* him, plain and simple. This wasn't like fifth year at all, when he and Hermione had been dating. Then, neither of them had really missed Harry at all. At least, not until he had been missing from class. Then it had been a case of Voldemort, but he hadn't even made a claim of having Harry, or killing him, or anything else that was despicable and could be done to a human.

  Ron scrunched his nose at the last thought. Maybe that was a little too much to think about.

  "Ron?"

  His head jerked up to find Hermione standing on the bottom stair leading to the girls' dormitory. "What, 'Mione?"

  "Why aren't you in bed?" She took the last step and crossed over to the chair where he was sitting. Pulling her dressing gown a little closer to her, she took a seat in the matching chair. "It's almost three."

  A red eyebrow raised slightly, Ron leaned towards her. "And why are you out of bed at three? I thought you had gone to bed."

  Hermione shook her head. "I can't sleep." She shifted uncomfortably in the chair, even though it was quite soft and cushiony. "For the last week, I've felt like something's about to happen, and I can't decide if it's good or bad."

  "What do you mean?"

  She shrugged before looking into the dwindling fire. "Ever since the last meeting.... It's like something that wasn't right has been fixed, but not necessarily in the way that I want it to be."

  Ron sat back in his chair and watched her for a while as a comfortable silence settled over the two of them. It was still a little strange for them to not be arguing, but they had both decided earlier this year that they would try to be more civil, even with they disagreed on something. And right now, they both agreed that they would try to stay calm while the search for Harry continued.

  "Did you hear from Snuffles?" Hermione asked suddenly.

  He shook his head. "No. I was going to send Hedwig, but she wasn't up in the owlery. I used Pig last time, so I was just going to wait until she got back. I know that Harry said that the other guys could use her to send letters and things, but I haven't had the chance to ask any of them if they had sent Hedwig somewhere."

  "Oh." She looked like a theory of hers had just been shattered.

  "What's wrong?"

  Hermione shifted again. "I was hoping that Snuffles and Professor Lupin would have found something."

  Ron shook his head. "Remember what Dumbledore said, that he didn't think that Harry would have left the grounds voluntarily. And if somebody did grab him, they wouldn't have left a trail with Harry's magical signature."

  Hermione snorted. Ron looked carefully at her and found her lips were tightly compressed, as if she were trying to hold back something. "Mione?"

  She burst out laughing. "I can't believe you remembered that!"

  He scowled at her as she tried to quiet her giggles.

  "Maybe...."

  "Maybe, what?" When she didn't answer, Ron leaned forward again. "Maybe, what, Mione?"

  Hermione shook her head. "I was just thinking that I would have said something like that, and not you."

  Ron frowned before a smile lit his face. "Yeah, I can see that. I think you rubbed off on me."

  She gave a quick grin in return. "You could say that."

  The silence fell again as they both turned their attentions to the fire. They watched the small flickers of flame as they danced between the logs in the hearth, sending eerie echoes of light around the dim room. Ron eventually turned to look at Hermione, and watched the light dance across her face. He was taken aback by the thought that she was truly beautiful, even when she was trying to fall asleep. He hadn't thought of her exactly like that before. It reminded him of when he had seen her at the Yule ball in fourth year. Even then, the thought that she was beautiful had pretty much smacked him one across the back of the head.

  "Mione?"

  She slowly moved her head to look at him. "What, Ron?"

  He leaned forward, so that his knees where touching hers. Reaching across their legs, he took a hold of her hands and gave them a squeeze. "We'll be all right, Mione. Harry will be back, and he'll be fine."

  Surprise raced across her face. "I.... How did you know what I was thinking?"

  Ron gave her an indignant look. "I have been friends with you for seven years. I dated you for five months. I would think that I know how you think every once in a while!"

  Hermione looked shocked before the muscles in her face relaxed into a sheepish smile. "Thanks, Ron."

  He leaned forward again, so that their faces were only inches apart. "You're absolutely welcome, Mione." He shifted in his chair and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I think its time for bed, now."

  Ron stood up, missing Hermione's expression of wonder, and walked over to the bottom of the staircase leading to his dorm room. "Good night, Mione."

  She sat in the chair for a couple more minutes before slowly making her way to bed. Maybe things were going to get better after all.

******

  Ron sleepily blinked one eye as a slice of sunshine broke through the gap in his curtains. Turning, he looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:30. Ugh, on a Saturday.... He flopped over onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillow, wishing he could fall back asleep, but from the noises that were creeping up the stairs from the common room he knew that it was pointless to even try. Even though he must have only gotten maybe four hours of sleep at the most.

  Sitting up, he began his daily ritual of looking over at his friend's bed to see if he had appeared sometime during the night. Sighing, he threw back the curtains and gaped at the scene that met his eyes. Harry's bed was completely empty. Trunk, broom, clothes... everything was gone.

  "WHAT!?" Ron's voice screeched in the silent, morning air. "HARRY! WHERE'S HARRY?"

  His shouts woke the other three boys in the room. They each looked at the bed where Harry normally slept and saw the same thing Ron had seen. Seamus scrambled out of bed and was shaking his head. "No. This is not possible."

  Neville hadn't moved from the sitting position he had first bent in. His pale eyes were the only color in his face as it bleached to an unnatural white. In the bed next to him Dean was trying to unwrap himself from the covers as a knock came on the door.

  Seamus quickly opened the door to find Professor McGonagall. She walked in and gave a small smile. "It's all right, boys."

  Four mouths hung open. "But," Ron began in a small, terrified voice, "where's Harry?"

  "He has been given a new room for the time being. You will be seeing him shortly, so don't worry," McGonagall said with the same smile still on her lips. "He will be at breakfast, and will answer your questions there as to where he has been." She stepped out of the room, leaving the four boys to dash around the room in a mad frenzy to get ready and hurry down to the Great Hall. Ron ran down the last stairs to find a frantic Hermione. Her face was pale and her eyes were rimmed in red. Behind her, Parvati was looking worried and Lavender was crying silently.

  "Harry..." Hermione shakily began before shutting her mouth.

  Ron nodded. "Let's go." He grabbed a hold of her hand and led the group out of the portrait hole. Together they made their way rapidly down to the Great Hall, the rest of the seventh years catching up to them. Opening the door, they looked to the Gryffindor table and found it empty. Ron stopped just inside the doors, looking at the empty spot that Harry hadn't sat in for five weeks and his shoulders began to slump.

  "Ron! Hermione! Guys!" A rich tenor began to call them to the front, where four strangers were seated at a side table next to the teacher's table. The man with long black and blond hair was waving at them enthusiastically. "Up here!"

  The seventh years began to walk up to the front and noticed that he looked very familiar.

  "Harry," said the blond woman sitting next to the man. "Stop teasing them!"

  "Harry?" There was a collective question from the Gryffindors.

  The black haired man nodded. "Yep. It's me!"

  "Very good, Potter. That sounded mature," uttered the blond haired man.

  Harry turned to him. "And you won't act like that when the Slytherins enter, hmm, Draco?"

  The seventh years' eyes switched to the other man.

  "That's Malfoy?" Ron asked with a shaky voice, a trembling finger pointing at the man.

  "At your service," drawled the man. "Well, not really."

  "That sounded good," the second woman finally joined the conversation. "Aeryn, please slap him for me."

  "Sure thing, Marty," replied the blond woman, whapping Draco upside the head. She sighed. "I feel a lot better now."

  "What is this, a daily nutritional requirement to hit me?" Draco laughed at her.

  Harry shook his head when he saw his friends' faces. Shock was clearly written across their features. "So," he began. "What have I missed since we've been gone?"

  "Draco, stop flirting," Aeryn was saying. Harry noticed that none of his friends were even listening to him. Instead they were watching the two blonds sitting next to him. "You are such a baby when it comes to this kind of stuff."

  "I'm not a baby," replied Draco. "I am now your age, after all."

  "Hm. Maybe physically, but I'm not so sure mentally."

  Draco pouted as Harry sighed.

  "Ron."

  There was no answer as the seventh year Gryffindors watched the blond Slytherin with mouths wide open and stunned looks in their eyes.

  "Ron!"

  Harry's yell broke their trance. Seven sets of eyes slowly turned to him, blinking in confusion at the same time.

  "Harry? What happened?" Hermione finally managed to say. "I mean, how did you get to look like that?"

  "It's a long story," Harry said. "Why don't you all eat and then we can go somewhere to talk about this."

  "Up in the common room?" Ron asked, his voice becoming excited at finally getting his best friend back, even if he looked a lot different.

  Harry shook his head. "I'm not exactly a student anymore, so...."

  "What!?" The Gryffindors shouted.

  "Not a student?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

  "That can't be right..." Seamus was muttering under his breath.

  "Did you get expelled for missing..." Parvati began. She stopped when they noticed Ron's pale face. "Is he all right?"

  The red head blinked owlishly at Harry and began to eye the rest of his house mates when his blue eyes rolled to the back of his head and fell to the floor.

  "Ron!" Harry stood up and rounded the small table to pick up his friend. Lifting him in his arms, he walked over to the Gryffindor table and laid him on one of the benches. "Ron..." His voice lowered. When no response came, he held out his right hand. "Enervate."

  Ron's eyes fluttered partly open. Harry could see that he was dazed.

  "I'm sorry, Ron. It doesn't mean that I'm leaving Hogwarts," Harry said. He turned around to see the others in a huddle near by. "And it doesn't mean that I've been expelled. Or Draco."

  The blond man was hovering on one side with Aeryn and Marty. He shook his head when the others turned to him. "No. Professor Dumbledore decided that we have completed school as it is. Our licenses have arrived, but that doesn't mean we won't be around."

  Harry nodded as Marty came over. "Here, Harry. Let me look at him." She ran a gentle hand across his brow and looked into his eyes. She looked up and everybody saw that Ron was going to be okay at the smile on her face. The red head blushed a little as her scrutiny continued.

  "Here, Ron." Harry held out his hand and helped his friend sit up. "Eat breakfast and then I'll tell you everything. I don't think you'll believe me on an empty stomach."

  "Ooh! Fresh meat!" All of their heads turned to Aeryn, who was watching someone enter the Great Hall. They all turned to see Professor Snape stalking down the room, headed straight for the table where the teachers sat. Aeryn gave a quirky little smile. "Well, I'm off!" She said cheerily, and bounced over to the table where they all saw Snape groan and try to pull away.

  "Is she crazy?" Seamus asked. The other seventh years wore shocked faces.

  Draco shook his head in a sad fashion, although there was a grin on his lips. "Yes. And all three of us were trapped with her." His grey eyes lit up as he saw some of the Slytherins walk in. "If you'll excuse me, I'm off to spread a little craziness myself."

  They watched as the Slytherins who had walked in stepped back when Draco greeted them warmly. Well, warm only to Blaise Zabini and a couple of sixth years. The rest of them he said short hellos to and then ignored.

  "That was interesting," Hermione said.

  "Harry," Marty said. "I'm going back to the room, and try to help explain everything when you're ready. Draco'll try to be there, but I suspect Aeryn won't be around."

  Harry's green eyes twinkled. "Something tells me the same thing, Marty," he said as she exited the Great Hall.

  The seventh years gawked. "The room?" Dean asked.

  "You share a room?" Lavender added.

  "All four of us," Harry said as he finally sat down opposite of Ron. "I'll take you guys up there and we can talk. After you eat." He looked pointedly at the plates in front of everyone. "And do it fast so I can get out of here before Colin...."

  They took the hint.

******

  "Damn, Harry!" Seamus' exclamation rang through the huge room.

  Ron's eyes were the widest Harry had seen them yet. "This is all yours?"

  "No," said a voice from the furthest bed. Marty's head was peeking through the curtains, which were the colors of Hufflepuff. "We all share it, but we do have a couple of individual rooms." She climbed out of bed and walked over towards them. Turning to Harry, she said, "Ready to give them the big tour?"

  Harry shook his head. "Draco will be here soon. We can give it to them all together."

  "SHIT!" The expletive was followed by a huge explosion in the next room. The seventh years rocked back on their heels as Harry and Marty ran to a side door. Just as they were about to pull open the door it slammed against the wall and a smoky Aeryn and Snape walked through.

  "I wouldn't recommend you doing that again, Severus," she was saying before stopping to cough. "Ugh, that stuff's awful." Aeryn stopped when she saw a bunch of Gryffindors in the center of the room and Slytherins in the doorway all gawking. "As if any of you never blew anything up in Potions..."

  "What was it, Aeryn," Draco said as he pushed his way through the Slytherins to where she stood.

  "Erumpet horn," she said with a bright smile, her white teeth flashing in a face covered with soot.

  "I would have done that correctly if you hadn't pushed me," Snape said in a chilling voice. Everyone but Aeryn stepped away as she moved forward.

  "And I said that I would do it in the first place, but no. You have to get all macho on me and do it because you're a man."

  Harry, Marty and Draco eyed each other.

  "On the count of three?" Marty asked in a quiet voice.

  Draco nodded.

  "One," Harry began, "two, THREE!"

  All three of them shoved the two who were arguing back into the room and locked the door.

  "Good riddance," Draco said as Harry and Marty sighed.

  "What?" Hermione squeaked, gaining their attention back to their gaping friends.

  Harry shook his head. "Don't ask, because I'm not sure we can answer." He led the others to a small room on the opposite side of the hallway from the large room.

  The walls were lined with bookshelves that went to the top of the twelve foot ceilings. Hermione and Catherine, one of the sixth year Slytherins that had followed Draco, looked around in wonder as the rest of them groaned at their reactions.

  "We'll never get her out of here, now," Ron complained.

  They eventually got seated, each of them noting that Harry and Draco were sitting next to each other willingly. "Where do we start?" Draco asked.

  "Harry?" Marty asked.

  "How about the day everyone was coming back from the holiday," Harry suggested quietly. All three nodded.

  "That's as good as any place to start."


	15. Dreams

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Chapter 15

Dreams

Disclaimer: ::Insert usual disclaimer here. I'm tired of saying I don't own Harry Potter and co.::

******

  Harry looked slightly uncomfortable with everybody looking at him expectantly. Shifting a little bit he briefly closed his eyes before speaking.

  "That morning I woke up feeling strange." His eyes landed on Ron and Hermione. "You two were asleep, so I decided that that was as good as time as any to work on the charms Professor Dumbledore and Aeryn was helping me learn. When we were almost finished I got that feeling when Dementors are around. Professor Dumbledore went off to see what was happening."

  "It was about that time," Draco interjected, "that I noticed the coldness in the dungeons and ran into Professors McGonagall and Steele. They sent me to Professor Dumbledore's office."

  "Before he got there," Harry went on to say, "a Dementor showed up in Dumbledore's office and moved into his private quarters where Aeryn and I were practicing."

  "Why there?" Blaise asked all of a sudden.

  "She's his great-great-granddaughter," Marty answered. "She's his family, and she stays in his quarters whenever she comes to visit."

  Harry nodded. "Anyway, the Dementor came in and we did the Patronus charm."

  Hermione's eyes were bright. "Aeryn did as well? What was hers?"

  "A unicorn."

  She gave a contented sigh, but Harry could see she was trying to figure out something in her head and Hermione wasn't about to let anybody know what it was until she was ready.

  "Once the Dementor was gone, a couple of minutes passed before we heard Draco at the gargoyle in front of Professor Dumbledore's office. When we got up there, Aeryn was coming out with Marty and that's when it happened." Harry stopped, not sure how to continue.

  "What happened?" Ron asked.

  "The shaking," Draco finally said. "Like Hogwarts was going to come crashing down. As that happened it went dark."

  Harry nodded. "The next thing I knew was Aeryn was trying to wake me up."

  "Yeah," Draco said. "I'm going to ask her why you and not me."

  "Because I'm better looking," he shot back.

  The blond sneered at him playfully. "I'll believe that the day the sun explodes."

  "Stop that!" Marty's voice pulled them from their word battle. Both found she was pointing at their friends who were once again stunned. "You're getting off track, so I'll finish."

  "Marty, don't." Aeryn's voice came to them as she walked into the room. "You will tell them too much."

  "Why can't we know?" Ron said as he stood. His face had hardened.

  The blond woman's face saddened. "Because if you were ever taken they would torture you for that knowledge. Voldemort has never played fair and would torture you until you told him exactly what he wanted. It would be the fate worse than death, a half-life."

  Everyone but Harry flinched at the name. He looked over at his friends. "Lets just say that we were in a room that not many people know about. We had no knowledge of the time here in the rest of the castle."

  Draco nodded. "With the help of a couple of people we learned some things that will help to fight against You-Know-Who," he simply said.

  "Say his name, Draco," Harry reminded him. "Voldemort."

  "Stop that, Harry," Seamus said.

  Aeryn looked at them all and raised one eyebrow. "And that is how Voldemort rose to power the first time," she said in the hardest voice any of them had heard. "Fear is an awesome weapon, and he has wielded it extremely well."

  Only Harry met her eyes at this. She gave him a nod and turned back to the door. "Granddad wants us all to be in his office in thirty minutes."

  "Thanks, Aeryn."

  The door shut with a soft click behind her, leaving the others in an uneasy silence.

  "Why did she say that?" Neville finally asked. "And like that?"

  "Because of what she has seen in this war," Harry said in a grave voice. "If we had been older when Voldemort had disappeared, we would probably react in the same way when the subject comes up. It is only because we have been protected here at Hogwarts that we can think like that. If we were to go out in the middle of the fighting, I suspect our thoughts would be just like hers." He looked over at Draco and saw a guilty look on his face when the grey eyes rose to meet his own green ones. Flashing a reassuring grin at him, Harry rose. "Well, we'd better see what Professor Dumbledore has in store for us."

******

  Dumbledore looked up as soon as everyone was seated. "I'll get right down to business," he stated as he stood from behind his desk. "I want to ask if any of you have been able to pick up any strange dreams since you've been back."

  Harry shifted in his chair before he looked at the others. "You mean like the ones I have about Voldemort?"

  The headmaster nodded. "Yes. Anything of that sort will help now that we have lost our main spy."

  "Main spy?" Marty looked confused.

  "Good, he didn't go back," Aeryn murmured.

  Harry gave her a swift look, but she was looking at the floor in front of her feet. "Should we just rely on my dreams from now on? I have had a couple, but they didn't make any sense at all." His eyebrows scrunched together for a couple of seconds before he continued. "The first he was talking to Nagini."

  "Nagini?" Marty asked.

  "His snake," Harry answered. "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I can speak Parseltongue. Their conversation made no sense, since they were talking about a woman Voldemort knew twenty years ago."

  Dumbledore sat back in thought when Harry paused. "They may have been talking about one of his followers. There were a few women that had been considered part of his inner circle. Lestrange was the only woman that was still alive when Voldemort fell sixteen years ago, as the others were either killed or died under other circumstances."

  "What would those be?" Draco had a strange glint in his eyes that Harry couldn't make out.

  "According to our spy, one of the women died in childbirth. The boy also died as well."

  Harry shook his head. "Now it makes sense. They were talking about the power the boy would have held if he had lived. It also sounded like Voldemort tried to bring him back to life, but even he didn't have enough power."

  Dumbledore looked at him. "The dead cannot be brought back to life. I know of no spell that can do it."

  Aeryn spoke up. "Rowena mentioned that the only way to bring someone back was for a person to give their own life. From what I've seen in my studies before this, it dooms both of their souls. They are linked, but the person that gives the sacrifice remains a ghost, and the person, well... they become a cross between a true human, and one that has been kissed by a dementor. A kind of zombie, I would guess."

  Draco nodded. "Salazar also said that the person brought back would be unable to do certain things. They aren't quite human anymore, so they can't rationalize like one. They would rely more on instincts alone, as well as order."

  There was a brief silence before Harry spoke up. "The second dream I had was of Voldemort talking to one of the dementors. I couldn't understand what the dementor was saying, but Voldemort was talking about a prisoner he wanted kept in Azkaban. He didn't mention them by name, but I have the feeling that it's Fudge. From what I remember, though, he got the kiss in one of the last dreams I had before Christmas." He stopped for a moment and leaned forward in his chair and looked at Aeryn. "We can find that out by shadowwalking, can't we?"

  Aeryn frowned. "We could, but since the dementors walk in the shadow world, they would know if we went there. I think that this time, they would definitely inform Voldemort of our presence. There are ways to keep someone separated from their bodies on a journey through the shadow world. Our conscience would be trapped there while our bodies would remain in a kind of stasis here. I wouldn't really recommend it, but if you absolutely wanted to go, I wouldn't hold back."

  Harry shrugged. "It would be safe if we stayed here, and probably would be best if we kept secret our return as long as possible." He turned to Dumbledore. "Do you have an idea of how many students there are that would be able to contact someone outside, like the Daily Prophet, that could give a not-quite-true report of our return? I think that would be the best way to gauge Voldemort's reaction without getting any of the other members involved."

  "Should we wait until the next meeting to reintroduce ourselves to the other members that aren't here?" Aeryn asked. "I know that several are here, but what about the others?"

  Harry nodded. "We might want to wait until we can have a story written in the Prophet." He tilted his head towards Dumbledore. "I know that you couldn't keep the story of us missing quiet for very long because of people knowing that 'Harry Potter' had disappeared. Since the school will learn about us turning up, it won't be too long before the other members know that we are back. We should wait until the next meeting to update them on what really happened. I really don't want to have to tell the story a half a dozen more times."

  The five of them laughed.

  "Did you want me to learn more about my dreams?" Harry asked when they quieted down.

  The headmaster gave him a searching look, far from the usual twinkling gaze he gave out. "That is up to you, Harry. We can find out the information, but it will take longer to get to us. I would rather you concentrate on the studies you have already begun." He leaned forward in his seat and looked steadily at the four in front of the desk. "That is the most important thing for all of you to do at this time. Continue with your studies, and we will take care of the rest."

  He sat back in a sign of dismissal.

  "Granddad?" Aeryn stayed seated as the other three rose. "Should we start testing the potion now?"

  Dumbledore was startled. "It's finished?"

  "That is what we need testing for. Besides, those who are going to use it when we need to will have to get used to walking through the shadow world, and it will take training."

  "Yes," the old man agreed. "We should get started on that." He gave a chuckle, the twinkle firmly back in his eyes. "I'm surprised Severus actually stayed with the whole thing."

  Aeryn laughed. "Why would you think that? The man is as stubborn as you. If he wasn't such a thinker, he would have been in Gryffindor."

  Harry and Draco stopped at the door at that, looking at each other.

  Dumbledore's eyes were dancing. "I'm referring to your teasing."

  "What? That harmless bit of fun?" Aeryn's eyes were twinkling as well. "He needs to loosen up. If he keeps going the way he is, he'll keel over within six months. That much seriousness isn't good for anybody." She gave a quick smile and hopped out of the chair. "That reminds me, I said that I would help tutor a couple of people for their NEWTs in potions tomorrow so I may be late for our tea. I think that Severus will be pleasantly surprised on Monday."

  Aeryn swiftly gave Dumbledore a hug and reached the door where Harry and Draco were still standing. Pulling each of them down the stairs, all three heard the soft laughter that followed them.

  "So, where'd Marty get off to?" Aeryn asked as they made their way towards their room. "I had to ask her something."

  Draco shrugged. "She said something earlier about asking Madam Pomfrey about something or other."

  Harry laughed. "Where did you pick that phrase up, hm?"

  The blond man smiled sheepishly before quickly replying, "I don't know."

  "Oooh," Aeryn started, poking Draco in the side after freeing her hand. "I think somebody's been spending time with Marty!"

  "Shut up!" Draco gave a half-hearted sneer that made the other two laugh before he pulled away from them and headed in the opposite direction.

  "Aeryn," Harry chided.

  "Harry." She grinned impishly at him before she stopped.

  He stopped as well when she didn't let go of his arm. "What is it?"

  "I wanted to ask you something as well, Harry."

  Harry frowned at the serious look on her face.

  "Yes?"

  Aeryn sighed. "I know that you and Severus have never gotten along, but would you mind helping us with the potion?"

  He took a step back, startled. Another look at her face brought home the earnestness in which she was asking the question. "Why?"

  "Because we have to start testing it, and I would rather have someone I know I can trust wholeheartedly to help me if I have trouble coming back."

  Harry looked down the hallway for a moment. In the back of his mind he knew that dinner would be in another hour or so and they would be introduced to the rest of the school. Another glance at Aeryn told him that wasn't all she was asking.

  "There is another reason, isn't there?"

  Aeryn sighed again. "Yes, but we should discuss this later in private. I want to tell you first before I tell Draco and Marty." Her face grew sad before a small smile appeared.

  Harry returned the smile. "Are you prepared to face the gauntlet?"

  "I was about to say the same thing to you. They are your peers, you know."

  He shook his head. "I have to agree and disagree. They are, yet aren't at the same time." He laughed. "Did that make any sense at all?"

  Aeryn laughed at all. "No and yes."

  Harry started laughing as well as they finally made it to the corridor on which their rooms led off. They both stopped when they found a large, black dog sitting patiently in front of the main door.

  "Snuffles!"

  A bark answered him as he hurried inside the room and looked at Aeryn.

  "Should I go?" Aeryn asked. "Did you two want some time alone?"

  Sirius appeared. "How did you know?"

  "The meeting, remember? About an eon ago?" She gave a huge grin.

  "Oh." The black haired man looked around. "Well, I think you should stay because what I have to say concerns you as well."

  "Is something wrong, Sirius?" Harry asked.

  He shook his head. "No. I'd say the total opposite." A wide smile crossed his face and a happy glint appeared in his dark eyes. Sirius looked around the room. "This'll take a while, so we should get comfortable."

  "Harry's bed!" Aeryn yelled.

  Both men looked at her.

  "It's comfortable!" She gave them a faked innocent smile.

  Harry laughed. "So that's why I come back and my bed's messy."

  "Is there something I should know about?" Sirius asked.

  Aeryn shook her head. "I like Harry's bed because it's better for jumping than mine," she said, pointing to the next one over. A guilty look crept through her eyes. "I just didn't realize it was so obvious."

  Harry gave her a steady look before nodding his head. "Very well, we'll sit on my bed."

  She jumped up and down. "Yeah!"

  "Aeryn?"

  She stopped at Harry's question.

  "How old are you?"

  Aeryn winked. "How old are you?"

  "That it. No more sugar for you!"

  She pouted as she dove onto the bed. "You're mean...."

  "Ok, what did you want to talk about?" Harry asked as he pushed Aeryn out of the way and sat down by the pillows.

  Sirius sat stiffly on the edge and took a deep breath. "It's about my family."

******

  "Marty!" Draco walked quickly to catch up with her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

  She smiled as she turned towards him. In her arms was a small pile of books. "Sure. We can talk as we go to the infirmary, okay?"

  He nodded. "Yes, that's fine." They turned the corner, avoiding a small cluster of Hufflepuff first years. "We do you need to go there?"

  Marty sighed. "I need to return these books. Madam Pomfrey wanted me to read them. It's too bad that they are from her private collection and not from the library. I might have been able to read them while we were still in the room."

  Draco frowned. "Don't you like being back?"

  She was silent for a couple of moments. "I sort of wish we were all back there. It just feels... weird."

  "In what way?" He eyed her for a couple of seconds. "Maybe the three of us can help."

  Marty shrugged. "I'm not sure if you can – at least, you and Harry. Aeryn, maybe she can help."

  A light clicked. "You're having trouble adjusting to your new body, aren't you?"

  A flush spread across her cheeks. "Maybe," she squeaked.

  Draco held back the chuckle that threatened to escape. He could definitely sense her plight in having aged from three to twenty four. It would cause problems if they weren't dealt with. "You should talk to Madam Pomfrey about it, then. She probably would be the best to talk about it."

  She shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, I talked to her quite a while last night, but I don't think I'm comfortable enough to talk about *that* with her."

  He stopped and held her arm in a light grasp. "Marty, she is the best one to talk about. She can go into nurse mode, which would probably be the best way to handle this. It might be embarrassing for Aeryn to talk about, since she knows you a whole lot better than Madam Pomfrey. Besides, Aeryn would probably start joking, and I know you don't like it all that much."

  Marty smiled. "I know. But, sometimes its good to laugh. I do agree with you though, about talking with Madam Pomfrey." She gave him another smile. "Thanks, Draco."

  He sent a small grin back at her. "No problem. Now, lets hurry up and get these books back. It's about time for dinner and I'd rather get this over with, the sooner the better."

  She laughed. "You're just nervous."

  Draco gave a sheepish look. "Is it that obvious?"

  Marty laughed again before he reluctantly joined in. "I guess it is," he said, answering his own question.


	16. Family Matters

******

Chapter 16

Family Matters

Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this anymore?

AN: Ack! Stupid ff.net wouldn't let me log in, so that's why this is so late. Stupid *mumbles under breath* I should've known something like that would eventually happen.

Thanks to everybody that's reviewed!

******

  "What about your family?" Harry asked.

  Sirius slightly shook his head. "It's still a little hard for me to wrap my head around, but I'll try to explain this as well as I can." He gave a small smile at both of them before continuing.

  "When I was eighteen, my father died. Actually, I should start with my mother's death. She had died when I was eleven, in fact just before I got my letter to Hogwarts. Your father, Harry, helped me to adjust to this loss, for which I will be forever thankful." Another smile, this time directed solely at his godson. "When my father died, though, I was left with no family. Lily and James were close enough to be considered my family, but I no longer had a blood relative to call on in times of trouble.

  "However, when I was going through my father's things, I found several letters addressed to him from a woman whose name I didn't recognize. At first I thought that these were love letters, as they were at *least* a couple of decades old, and were from a crush of my father's when he was younger. Thinking like this, I just put them in a box to go through later and in time forgot about them.

  "When Lily was pregnant with you, though," an impish grin at Harry broke his speech for a moment before he went on, "she was rather bored and started to sort through the things that I hadn't. It was terribly curious of her, and you, Harry, get that from her and definitely not your father. After reading them, she made me read them as well.

  "Imagine my surprise to find that they had been written by my father's sister! At that point I had thought that I was totally alone, and this made me excited."

  Sirius frowned and stopped for a moment, dropping his eyes to the bedding.

  "Sirius?" Harry's question brought his eyes up to the two seated across from him, a grimace across his face.

  "I did some research and found that the woman had died two years earlier, leaving nothing much in the way of records. She had been married, but no trace of her maiden name had been left. No family, no other brothers or sisters, nothing. After finding this out, I shut it away.

  "Now we can jump ahead seventeen years to when you two were missing. I, in a frantic state, was bugging the hell out of everyone, even Remus...."

  "Even Remus?" Harry interrupted with a huge smile on his lips. "You must have been really bad!"

  Sirius playfully swiped Harry's head with his hand. "Shut up, you!"

  Aeryn laughed, reminding the two men of her presence. "So what happened to pull you out of that state? I mean, you're pretty calm today."

  Sirius smiled again. "Albus finally sat me down and started to explain a couple of things. At first I didn't want to believe him, thinking that all those years ago he could have helped with the pain of losing my father. Then I was angry and scared and terrified all at the same time that I would lose you," a soulful glance at Harry wiped all of their faces of happiness.

  "What did Granddad tell you?" Aeryn finally asked when it looked like Sirius wouldn't say anything for a while.

  "That he's my relative...." Sirius sighed as Harry and Aeryn looked at each other. "He had wondered about me back when I was in school, since I looked a lot like his great-grandson. All this time he had really thought that I might have been a distant cousin, since I always used my father's nickname, Hunter, as his true name. Plus, add the fact that my father must have changed our last name at some point or another, and so it was just a huge mystery to Dumbledore."

  "How...?" Harry's green eyes were full of questions as Aeryn started to bounce up and down.

  "Your father's name wouldn't have happened to be Orion and your aunt's name Anastasia, would it?" Her eyes were starting to sparkle just like Dumbledore's did when he was amused.

  Sirius nodded as he smiled. "Yes. Dad's real first name was Orion, but since he's considered the hunter of the night sky, he must have thought that would be just enough for anybody to not find him. Plus, adding the fact that he moved to England just after he left his family is really big, too."

  Aeryn gave a sparkling laugh. "That is so cool!"

  Harry looked between both of them. "Did I miss something?"

  Aeryn shook her head. "It's nothing that you missed. You just didn't have all the information."

  Sirius nodded again.

  "You see," she began, "when Aedyn and I started school, Dad sent us off on a search to use the library to see if we could find any mention of his brother's name, which happened to be Orion." Aeryn tilted her head at Sirius quickly. "What we didn't realize until both of us had graduated was that he had changed his name, either first or last. By that time, more than thirty years had passed since Dad had last seen his brother. Their parents and Orion had this huge argument and he walked out. Dad was just starting Salem Academy and didn't find out about this until a week later when their older sister owled him with the news. It makes sense when you say he moved right after his argument with his parents. Dad would certainly have never thought about that at that age."

  "So you two are cousins?" Harry asked after a couple of seconds.

  Sirius and Aeryn looked at each other before nodding. "I think so," Aeryn finally said.

  "Yes," the older man agreed.

  Harry turned to Aeryn. "That explains a lot," he stated.

  "What?" Her brow was furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

  He laughed. "You act a lot like how Remus said that Sirius did when they were in school."

  Aeryn looked at Sirius. Both of them wore shocked expressions before they burst out laughing.

  "Must run in the family," Sirius spluttered between laughs. All three of them started laughing so loud they almost missed the knocking on the door.

  "I'll get it!" Aeryn jumped off the bed and threw the door open revealing Snape standing on the other side, wearing a fierce scowl.

  "Albus sent me to remind you that your presence is requested at dinner." The potions master's frown deepened when he saw the large dog sitting in front of Harry. His dark eyes shot back to Aeryn as she gave a friendly smile.

  "Sure. We're just on our way," she said in a happy tone of voice.

  Snape eyed her for another second before stalking away.

  As soon as Aeryn shut the door, Sirius reappeared. "You are brave, my new cousin."

  Aeryn's smile faltered slightly. "About what?" she asked in a curious voice.

  "For smiling at Snape," was the answer.

  Harry laughed at both of their expressions. "Sirius, she's been smiling at Snape ever since they met before Christmas!"

  "What!?" Sirius' voice sounded shocked.

  "It keeps him guessing," Aeryn simply said as she walked over to one of the doors on the far side of the room. "Let me brush my hair and I'll be ready to go." She smoothed one hand over it and began muttering under her breath.

  Harry laughed again as he shook his head. "I don't think that I will ever understand her."

  Sirius gave him a long look. "I gave up trying to understand a lot of things a long time ago, and women top the list," he said as he started to laugh again.

  An enormous smile spread across both their faces as Aeryn came back into the room a minute later, Circe planted firmly across her shoulders.

  "What?!" she asked.

  "Nothing..." Both men answered her in a sing-song voice as they scrambled to the door.

  Sirius became Padfoot once more and trotted in the direction he knew that his and Lupin's rooms were located, leaving the other two to find their way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

  "What do you think of that?" Harry asked as they went down a flight of stairs.

  Aeryn's nose scrunched up. "It's weird. When we never heard anything about Orion, Aedyn and I pretty much thought he never had a family or children. But now," she shook her head in confusion. "I think it's pretty cool that I have a cousin." She gave a small laugh and really looked at Harry. "What about you?"

  Harry narrowed his eyes in thought. "I'm glad that Snuffles has some family," he eventually said.

  "That means you have family, too, Harry."

  He whipped his head around and stared at her. "What do you mean by that?"

  Aeryn frowned at him. "You didn't think that you were without family, did you?"

  Harry's eyes dulled before sharpening as Aeryn lightly hit him in the shoulder.

  "You idiot!" She stopped in the middle of the deserted hall a corridor down from their destination. "You thought that, didn't you? Snuffles is your family, I know all the Weasleys accept you as family, now I do as well! I'm also pretty sure that Granddad has considered you family from the first day you were born."

  He looked at her carefully in contemplation. He had never thought of it in that fashion before. His desire to be part of a family had blinded him to the fact that you didn't need to be related by blood in order to be part of a family. Hell, Snape could play the role of a detested uncle if he really thought about it.

  Snape.... That reminded him about the potion Aeryn wanted to test. That thought led to the one about his question of what she wanted to talk about.

  "What did you mean about teaching us about the shadow world?"

  Aeryn's face fell. "It will take a long time to explain, so it'll have to be after dinner," she said as they entered the corridor that held the Great Hall. "The reason I want to talk to you separately is because there are things in the shadow world that are... dangerous to a person's sanity."

  Harry gazed at her steadily as they stopped just before the doors to the Great Hall. "Well, then. We'll have to take our chances if it means that we can win this war. In the meantime, how about we start planning Monday's lesson?"

  She laughed. "You're just nervous about teaching, aren't you?"

  He nodded as he opened the door. "Absolutely terrified."

  "Well, the first thing to remember is that there are no stupid questions, only *very* odd ones."

  "Should I act naturally?"

  "By all means, do," Aeryn replied solemnly. "By all means."

******

  Draco's left eyebrow twitched nervously as students began filing into the Great Hall. Only he and Marty were seated at the teacher's table, a move that Dumbledore had insisted on as he planned to make an announcement as soon as everybody was gathered for dinner.

  "Where are they?" Marty finally asked.

  He shook his head. "Last I knew they were both headed for the room."

  "They wouldn't get into any trouble, would they?"

  Draco laughed. "Knowing what I've seen of them together, probably."

  Marty smiled. "Yes. I can see that."

  They were interrupted as Snape came through the door next to the teacher's table, a sharp noise sounding as the doorknob hit the stone of the wall. Draco had the feeling that it would not be wise of anybody to try to talk to him at the moment. He watched the potions master for a moment before Harry and Aeryn walking in the Great Hall caught his attention. Much of the students' chatter had halted abruptly at the sight of them.

  Both of them, though, were deeply involved in a conversation and totally ignored the strange looks directed their way. They walked to the far end of the table and took the last two seats, not even noticing that they were seated next to Snape, who glowered so fiercely that Draco was afraid that his face would become stuck that way. Hiding a chuckle, he glanced at Marty, who seemed to be having the same problem as he.

  "How long do you think it'll take those two to notice?" Marty whispered, leaning closer to Draco.

  He quickly looked back in the direction indicated before giving a slight smile. "I can't even begin to imagine."

  Marty gave a quiet laugh and turned her attention to Dumbledore, who had risen from his seat.

  "Attention, everyone!"

  The hall went quiet.

  "I am pleased to announce that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter have been returned safely from their journey. Please don't ask where they have been, because I'm not entirely sure I want to know the whole story." Blue eyes twinkled merrily at his little joke, setting off the older students and most of the teachers. "Instead, I welcome you to listen to what they do have to say, as they will be your new Dueling instructors."

  Confusion had swept over the hall when they didn't see their classmates. Now it was multiplied by this mysterious news.

  "Albus?" Madam Hooch, who hadn't been at the staff meeting the night before, asked the question that seemed to be on almost everybody's mind, "where are they?"

  Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "Why, right in front of you!" He nodded in Harry's and Draco's direction, indicating for them to stand.

  Draco shot a look at Harry who gave a sheepish shrug and rose from his chair. As he did so as well, a gasp rose from the students.

  "Draky?!"

  His face fell as he recognized Pansy Parkinson's voice. Just what he didn't need. Next to him, Marty started giggling as he looked across the table to find Harry holding back laughter.

  "Harry?!" Ginny Weasley's shout echoed in the wake of the laughter from the teacher's table.

  Ron Weasley's face grew red as he clapped one hand over his sister's mouth. "I told you about this a couple of minutes ago!"

  Dumbledore gave a soft chuckle before he continued. "Now that the announcement is out of the way, eat up!"

  At the Gryffindor table, the seventh years were chattering excitedly about what had happened earlier in the day. Those that were around them were trying to ask as many questions as possible.

  "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ginny was asking Ron and Hermione.

  Ron gave her an odd look. "I would have if I could have found you after we talked to Harry, but you seemed to have disappeared!"

  Ginny blushed hard enough that her face matched her hair. Next to her, Colin seemed to wiggle slightly.

  Hermione arched an eyebrow at Ron, who threw back an exasperated look.

  "You should see their room!" Seamus was telling a couple of fifth years. "It's huge! But when we got there, Aeryn and Snape were arguing and fighting, and she didn't show any sign of backing down."

  Dean laughed. "Neither did Harry."

  "Well, that's Harry for ya," Seamus countered, leaving the others confused as to what exactly he was talking about.

  "What are you talking about, Seamus?" Neville was looking between Seamus and Dean.

  The other boy shook his head as he looked at Neville and Seamus. "I have absolutely no clue, so don't look at me," Dean answered.

  Seamus frowned at them before a smile appeared. "Nobody understands me," he tried to pout.

  Lavender reached across the table and tried to take a swipe at him. "And you never noticed this in the last seven years?"

  Parvati laughed at the look on the sandy haired boy's face as she turned back to Lavender. "That was excellent!"

  Lavender nodded. "I know! I've been taking lessons from Hermione."

  "What's that?" Ron gave them an intrigued look when they mentioned his friend's name.

  Both girls giggled before Parvati told him, "We're not telling."

  Ron sighed as they went back to talking to each other. He gave a quick glance in the direction of the teacher's table, wishing that Harry would still be sitting next to him. While it had been great to see his friend well and alive, he wished that Harry hadn't changed so much.

  "Ron?" Ginny's face wore a worried expression. "Did you owl Mom, yet?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. I sent Pig out when I couldn't find you. I figured that she would want to know right away."

  She gave him an odd look that told him she didn't quite believe him. Ron dismissed it, since he had only told her what was going on. Maybe she thought that there was something behind this. He would just have to wait and see what she came up with. Besides, he was pretty sure that their parents would be able to straighten out anything that he couldn't. It wasn't like she didn't know about the order, but this didn't have anything to do with it.

  Shaking off that thought, he dug into the strawberry shortcake that was being served.

******

  Snape scowled as he sat in his seat at the teacher's table. He wasn't particularly pleased by having to sit next to Potter and Negre, but for once the girl didn't seem to be even trying to tease or prod or one of the many other things she had been pulling the last week. Instead, the two seemed to have continued on with their intense discussion over what they would be discussing in their upcoming Dueling Class.

  Dumbledore had talked to him about it, since he had been roped into teaching the Dueling Class back in Potter's second year with Lockhart. *That* fool had barely even enough sense to know which end of his wand he should hold. It was particularly fitting, though, that the idiot had ended up with getting a taste of his own medicine. For once he had been glad that the youngest Weasley boy had an old wand on its last legs.

  Personally, he wasn't very interested in knowing what exactly Potter could do with the class. In fact, he was looking forward to watching the boy... man... no, he couldn't call him that – it was too mature and he was certain the Potter would never be that – Potter messing up his first try at teaching. Another part of him would enjoy seeing Draco teaching. When the boy hadn't been trying to act like his father – such as in front of anybody who wasn't a Slytherin, well, Crabbe, Goyle, and himself – he was particularly interesting. The blond had a sharp wit and an astounding knowledge of certain subjects. He was always good at potions, and not just because Snape favored him. The boy had an instinct about the various properties of certain ingredients in each potion. It wasn't like Granger's book facts, which weren't quite the same.

  Which brought him back to the question of the dueling class. Dumbledore had said that for the first couple of classes, the entire school would be in the great hall after dinner. After the first week, it would be divided into years. That first week would be to demonstrate, or to help the students re-learn, the basics of dueling. However, the headmaster had told him that there were certain rules the four were going to throw out the window. In the time of war, being polite was a thing of the past.

  Still, he wouldn't mind seeing Potter talk to a snake again, even if he did feel jealous about that particular gift.


	17. Shadows Run

******

Chapter 17

Shadows Run

Disclaimer: I don't own them at all. JK Rowling and a bunch of industrial tycoons do.

AN: Yeah! ff.net is finally back in action! Plus my computer is finally working again. All of my chapters were stored on my zip disk, and my computer is the only one that I know of that has a 100MB Zip drive. So, I had quite a long wait before Gateway sent it back. I'm polishing up the Dueling Class chapter – it's next – and it should be up within the next couple of days.

Thanks to everybody that's reviewed. It really makes my day – and I get this nice, warm and fuzzy feeling that lasts for quite a while.

******

  Harry watched carefully as Snape added the last ingredient to a potion as it bubbled in a nearby cauldron. Next to him he could feel Aeryn shivering in the chill of the dungeons, but after seven years, he had gotten used to the sometimes near-freezing temperatures Snape seemed to like. She had dragged him down here after dinner to talk with Snape about the potion before their talk about the shadow world.

  After a couple more minutes, Snape finally turned towards them and directed a glare at the two of them. Harry leaned back in the chair, not exactly sure how to take the attitude of the older man, even though he was no longer his student. Aeryn seemed to have no compunction or hesitation as she stood up and crossed over to the cauldron.

  "Swelling Potion? Why did you make this?"

  Harry saw frustration crossed the other man's face. He raised an eyebrow at this, thinking that if he had asked it he would have been glared at. It must be because Aeryn had gone fully into a serious mode as soon as they stepped into the room and Snape recognized this.

  "The second years are making Deflating Draughts Monday morning. Seeing as how some of them will actually get it right, I will need this to counter it." Snape drawled as he poured the potion into three large phials. Once this was done he looked at Harry and Aeryn. "You wanted to discuss the Silmaron...?"

  Aeryn nodded. "I was hoping that we would be able to test it tomorrow morning. It's best to go walking when you have the most energy, and even better after sleeping. The best time is when the brain is in an 'alpha' state."

  Harry was confused, and by the looks of it Snape was as well.

  "An 'alpha' state?" Harry asked. "Isn't that from muggle science?"

  She nodded and returned Snape's scowl. "Yes. I found that muggle science helped in discovering what is the best time to approach the shadow world. You enter it when the brain is in an alpha state, but when you are there it is a theta state."

  "What is the difference between the two states?" Snape asked. It wasn't potions, but he was curious to know just what muggles thought of this.

  "Alpha is the state when you are alert in mind and relaxed in body. Most often it is the time when you have been awake for a short time, or in between meals. Concentration is very easy, along with coordination and an inner sense of balance. Theta is the state of dreams. When a person dreams, the brain settles into theta waves, hence a theta state." Aeryn shrugged. "After that it gets a whole lot more complicated and I'm not sure that I can explain it very well. Even half of the books I have read on the subject have different theories on what exactly happens in the two states.

  "No one exactly knows how the brain gets from one state to another. Only that there are four states: alpha, delta, theta, and beta. For shadowwalking, we are only concerned with alpha and theta waves. The other two, I really don't have a clue to what they are."

  Harry saw that Snape was contemplating the information, even though he was still fairly clueless about what Aeryn had been talking about. He would have to ask Hermione about what she had been talking about the next time he saw his friend.

  "Very well," Snape finally said, breaking into the pattern of silence that had fallen on the three of them. "Interesting." He raised one eyebrow as he looked at Harry and Aeryn. "I suggest that if you want to do this when you are at an 'alpha' state, then be down here at eight tomorrow morning."

  Aeryn nodded. "That's fine." She turned to Harry. "Ready to go?"

  He nodded as well and stood. "Are you going to tell me what to expect in the shadow world?" he asked as they left Snape's work office.

  "Yes," she answered. "Let's go to the little library. I don't want anybody to disturb us while we're talking. It's not a fun subject to have to explain when you're in the middle of it all."

  "Potter. Negre."

  They turned around to see Snape standing outside his office.

  "Severus?" Aeryn asked, curiously. "Was there something else?"

  The tall man walked rapidly towards them. "I wish to hear what you were going to tell Potter about the shadow world."

  Harry eyed him for a moment before looking at Aeryn. Her face had gone slightly pale as she sent him a glance. "I... guess it would be okay." She hesitated. "The only thing is that I ask you to... not judge what you will hear."

  The eyebrow lifted again, but Harry was surprised to see that Snape didn't counter with his usual vicious jib. He was intrigued by this – this little piece of humanity showing through the potions master's habitual mask of hatred and loathing – but decided he would have to think about it later.

******

  Severus looked around the library, fingers itching slightly to look up some of the books he had seen. It had taken a couple of minutes for Aeryn to find the right words to start off from, and he had looked at some of the titles in the mean time. He would have to find the time to check out some of these books after they were done.

  "The shadow world is primarily made up of one thing - shades of gray."

  He shot her a look, but Aeryn was looking at her hands as they rested in her lap.

  "Everything that is there is a shade of gray," she continued. "Nothing really lives there, but they just exist."

  "What are 'they?'" Severus asked.

  Aeryn looked up. "The shadow world is called that because that is the place where the shadows of those killed by the Killing Curse exist." Her voice was shaky and her eyes darted over to where Harry was sitting.

  Severus could see that the younger man had gone quite still in shock. He, himself, was shocked at this news. It made him wonder, though. In his service to Voldemort, when he had been young and foolish, he had considered himself unlucky to have never used those two forbidden words. But he had seen countless of lives taken by the Killing Curse, and if he were to go to the shadow world.... Would he be able to handle seeing the shadows of people he should have tried harder to save? Would they forgive his past mistakes? And that didn't even include those that he had a more direct path to their deaths. Voldemort had commanded him to make countless potions that were deadly, even if he had administered only a tenth of them himself. He was not one of the blameless in this war.

  "A..." Harry sputtered slightly. "You mean... all people there?" Aeryn nodded. "Like my mum and dad?"

  She nodded again. "I... It's hard seeing people there. They are.... It's like they're frozen in time, but sometimes fate is not always kind to them."

  "What do you mean by that?" Harry asked. Severus could hear something in his voice - was it fear?

  "Sometimes, when a person is hit with the Killing Curse, they... change. More often than not it is one whose soul had already had a heavy burden to bear. Other times it is because their soul is so deeply entrenched in the dark that there is no other choice but to change from what it might have been into something darker. Disgusting." The words just seemed to rush from Aeryn's mouth, flowing faster. "It's awful to see them like that. And to talk to them. It's...."

  "Aeryn?"

  Severus kept his eyes glued to the other two. Both were struggling against their feelings.

  "My mum," she replied. "It's so hard to see her." Her voice was a bare whisper, just reaching Snape's ears. "She always seems to know when I'm in the shadow world, and I'm grateful for her help, but it's so hard seeing her like that when she should be here in this world!"

******

  Draco kept his eyes trained on the woman across from him, making sure that she didn't know he was watching her. There was something about her that made him want to undo the layers of her....

  Bad idea, Draco, he thought as he mentally slapped himself. No need to go there at the moment. Laughing at himself, he looked on as Marty and Professor Steele finished up their conversation – on what he wasn't exactly sure.

  "Ready, Draco?" Marty asked as she moved towards him. "I think that I'm all set for the evening."

  He nodded as he rose from his chair. "Ready as I'll ever be."

  The two were walking towards their rooms, but when they reached the corridor before theirs, they each heard a strange sound coming from one of the rooms.

  "Aren't these old classrooms?" Marty asked as they paused.

  "Yes. I don't think they've been used in twenty years. This part of the castle is off limits to all students," Draco said as he turned in the direction from which the sound was coming. "I think that this warrants a quick look."

  Marty shook her head as she followed him down the dark corridor. The lights down it were few and far between, and as they reached the classroom where the sound was originating, a chill ran down both of their spines.

  Draco looked down the way they had come and found that it looked much darker than it previously had. He was just about to comment on it when the sound abruptly stopped, ending in a terrifying shriek.

  Definitely not good, he thought. Making sure he had a good grip on his wand, he scanned the door for any wards put on it. Finding none, he cautiously twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

  The room was empty of life, but shadows seemed to dance across the floor in a mad frenzy. The night was too dark for such a thing with the moon a day from the new moon. As he stepped into the room, an awful stench wafted towards him. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he lifted his wand.

  "Lumos."

  He almost dropped his wand at the sight that greeted him. A black robed figure was held on a cross, a mockery of crucifixion. A Death Eater mask hung half off the face, revealing dark hair stained with blood.

  "Merlin!"

  Marty's exclamation snapped him out of his shock, and Draco strode over to the figure. Pulling the mask off, his breath left him in a great whoosh.

  It was Vincent Crabbe.

  His one-time bodyguard hadn't come back over the break, having been formally inducted into Voldemort's ranks. The Dark Lord hadn't been too pleased with him, judging by the gashes and contusions that were scattered on his body. Glassy eyes were still frozen in fear, forever looking at his killer.

  "How did he get here?" Marty asked after a minute, her voice very quiet.

  Draco shook his head. "I don't know," he answered, his voice barely a whisper.

******

  Harry sat back in the chair once more. Would he be able to handle seeing his parents again? He knew that they would be in the same form as when they had come out of Voldemort's wand in their duel in his fourth year. Was he ready to face such a thing?

  He looked up and saw Aeryn trying to get a hold of herself, absently wondering just how many times she'd had to see her mother. Still, his mind went back to his parents. Their images would be frozen in time, and it would be strange to see them when he was nearing their age. They hadn't been much older than him when Voldemort had killed them. Added to that, he was half-afraid of what reaction Sirius would have if he saw them - or Remus.

  Shaking his head, Harry tried to stop the morbid thoughts before they started to consume him. It wouldn't be very good if he let it happen.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snape take a shuddering breath. Harry wondered what it would be like for the former Death Eater to go to such a place. He was pretty sure that Dumbledore would want as many people to travel through the shadow world as possible, making it possible to send a party for ambush. Sufficient trauma, such as seeing dead people, would not be very good for the group.

  He opened his mouth to say something when he felt a presence at the edge of his mind. It was irritating enough for him to pay attention. Something was wrong within Hogwarts, and it wanted him to check it out. Looking up, Harry discovered Aeryn wore a puzzled look on her face.

  "Do you feel it, too?" he asked as he stood.

  She nodded. "Yeah. Funny, though." Aeryn looked over at Snape. "You can look at the books here. We have to go check something."

  The Potions Master nodded in reply before they left.

  "What do you think it could be?" Aeryn asked as they walked rapidly down the corridor to the main hallway in the wing.

  Harry shrugged slightly. "I'm not exactly sure. It's dark, whatever it is."

  Two minutes later found them in the room Draco and Marty were standing in, both looking over the body of the younger Crabbe.

  "What happened?" he asked the blond.

  Draco shook his head. "We don't know what happened. All we can figure out is that he's been dead for a while. Even the killing curse won't produce such a cold body."

  "The other thing that's weird about this is that we heard sounds coming from the room, and now that I think about it they were filled with pain," Marty added. "He couldn't have produced them though. It looks like he was dead when he was moved here."

  Harry looked closer around the room. The corners were filled with deep shadows even though he held his lit wand up high. The room didn't feel right - as if whatever had been in here and left Crabbe wasn't of this world.

  "Shit!"

  The other three turned to find Aeryn had paled considerably.

  "What is it?" Marty asked her.

  "Something crossed from the shadow world to here and back again." The blond woman started pacing as Harry and Draco gently set down the body of Crabbe onto the floor. "That might mean that Voldemort has been able to enlist the help of some of its citizens."

  "Is that good or bad?" Draco wanted to know.

  Aeryn shrugged her shoulders. "It depends on the ambitions of that particular creature. Some of the things that live there are very dangerous – to the point that they are so ruthless it doesn't matter how they achieve their objective. Much like Voldemort, but they are ten times as cunning as Riddle would ever hope to be."

  Harry eyed her. "So, we could potentially have just more than Voldemort to worry about."

  The blond woman nodded. "Yes. Let's just hope that he hasn't persuaded one of the demons to help – because the entire world will be in trouble."

******

  Snape looked up as he heard someone enter the library. Already he had found some books that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. He had vowed to bring it up the next time he spoke to Aeryn to make sure that none of the students would look at them, especially as both her and Potter had said that their friends were welcome to look around. Even then, some of the books had taken his breath away, so Dark were their subjects that even some of the Death Eaters would have thought twice about reading them.

  The Dark Lord, on the other hand, would do a lot to get his hands on such a collection.

  Maybe it would be better if he talked to Dumbledore about it.

  "Find something, Severus?"

  Speaking of the headmaster... Snape twisted to find the older man standing next to him, his eyes twinkling merrily. His lips formed a scowl as he held the book in his hands for the other man's inspection.

  "Dangerous," he said for the first book. "Even more dangerous," he stated, pointing at a second book. "Voldemort's ultimate prize." This was directed at the third book in the small pile he had in his arms.

  Dumbledore nodded. "Then we just won't tell him about it, will we?"

  Snape's jaw slackened at the response. The man was getting loonier with every year that passed.

  The headmaster chuckled as he handed back the book Snape had given him. "I don't think that they will go around letting these particular books leave the room."

  "And their friends?" Snape asked. "I wouldn't trust any of them within ten feet of this book, let alone most of them."

  "You would be surprised, Severus, at just how resourceful these books will be in the future," Dumbledore replied. "I don't doubt that it will not be one of the four who will actually find anything in there that they don't already know. It will take more skillful eyes to see anything that could be useful for the Dark."

  Snape's eyes narrowed. The headmaster's suggestion didn't feel exactly heartwarming. Rather, it sounded even more dangerous that the four would probably take up Dumbledore's explanation and let either Granger or Zabini read it, which could prove hazardous.

  He watched as Dumbledore left, wondering why he had stopped by in the first place. Instead of wasting the time trying to do so, he sat back in a chair and opened up the book that the Dark Lord would probably destroy Hogwarts to get.


	18. Dueling Class

******

Chapter 18

Dueling Class

Disclaimer: *whining very loudly* Do I even have to say it?!?! *pouts* Well, I'm not, so there...!

AN: Here's where everybody gets a sneak peek (just a little one at that) at just how powerful Harry and Draco have become. Up until now, they've accepted that they have trained hard, but no one has quite grasped just *how* much. Of course, a little talent never hurt.

******

  Snape and Dumbledore watched the four step through the door that led to their bedroom. From everything he had seen, Snape knew that the potion was an initial success. At least in that it allowed a space to open up between the present and the shadow world. However, it didn't last long enough for more than one person to enter it. Then, when the next person poured the potion on the exact same spot as the first, the portal opened in a completely different spot.

  That would make it more difficult than they had originally thought. All four would have to be going in by twos, with Aeryn entering the shadow world in the way she normally did to meet up with the other half of the pair.

  Snape resigned himself to continuing working on the potion in his spare time, since he had been found lacking in a few areas – which he wasn't pleased at all to hear. However, as Dumbledore had reminded him, he had to go through with the class just like the rest of the school. The only thing that made it bearable was that the four that were now on the other side of the door had actually found something that the headmaster didn't know. So it was a couple of muggle techniques that the Death Eaters wouldn't know about, but it did help calm Snape down. A little. Not much.

  Only the two of them had been tested so far – in the middle of the potion test, which didn't make Snape happy at all that they would do something like that – the rest of the school would be tested after the demonstration requested by the board, who would be viewing it as well. Luckily he was not required to greet them, and instead made his way to the dungeons.

  Once there, he crossed to his desk where he had stacked several books that he had taken from the Founders' library. There were several potions and antidotes that would prove to be useful in the battle that Dumbledore sensed would be coming soon. He would leave the work on the Silmaron until tomorrow, when he wasn't so frustrated at its half-failures. Potions was not an art to be done while angry at something – students were one thing, yourself was a completely different issue.

  Dropping into his seat, Snape grabbed the first book and started reading, never noticing the hours pass.

******

  Harry stood in one corner of the Great Hall watching as the students filed in, each of them seeming to stare curiously at the board as they sat at a table set up in the very back of the room. He had been feeling nervous all day, well, since they woke up after the disappointing trial of the Silmaron potion. As the time came closer for his first class, the worse the feeling had become. A part of him was suddenly in awe of all the teachers he'd ever had – that they had the courage to stand in front of children and teach them. It was quite humbling and made him feel slightly guilty for goofing off so much. Well, not a whole lot guilty. At least not when it came to Divination.

  He admitted to himself that he would be even more nervous if he still wasn't puzzled by the appearance of Crabbe's body in the castle. The four of them had searched a great deal of Hogwarts before realizing that whoever had planted him and the mysterious charm there was long gone. Draco had suggested that it may have been another student, since he wasn't quite sure that any of the seventh year Slytherins left had been initiated as Death Eaters or not. If they hadn't, they had probably been instructed to follow specific directions. The only thing that was puzzling was the charm that they had found. It had recorded the last moments of Crabbe, but didn't have any other sounds on it. There was no clue as to who did that to him, or when it had been done.

  Aeryn had reminded them that something from the shadow world had been in that room, which had ruled out anyone but a Death Eater. If Voldemort had developed something along the lines of the Silmaron Potion, but with a spell since he no longer had a Potions Master, then it would make it doubly hard for them to try and find the culprit.

  The mystery, though, would have to wait, at least until after this class was over with. For now he would just have to deal with speaking in front of the whole school. And friends. And.... He wasn't going to think about it.

  Standing in the half-shadows as he was, he went unnoticed by even his friends. Hermione and Ron were talking quietly between themselves, obviously in their own little world. A grin spread across Harry's face as he watched. Maybe they would try again to be together, since he had thought it a shame that they had broken their relationship off just when it had seemed to finally stabilize.

  Surprisingly, it may have been for the best that he had gone missing. Without his presence, the two had been able to see each other for what they really are. Harry's grin grew wider as he watched Ron lean closer to Hermione, never noticing that he was seriously invading her personal space. Hermione certainly didn't seem to mind.

  Hiding the chuckle that wanted out, Harry turned his attention to his fellow teachers. Draco was worse off, more so than himself. The blond man was pacing back and forth while Marty tapped her foot impatiently. Only Aeryn was composed, but Harry knew that it was only because she had four years' teaching behind her. He had sat in on her classes today when she substituted for Professor Steele, and knew that she was one of the more relaxed teachers. It was the same style that Remus had used when he taught DADA, making him the most fondly remembered teacher among the top three years. Harry hoped he did just as well when they split everybody up into the groups they had planned.

  Finally, the doors shut and Dumbledore stood at his normal place at the teacher's table. It was the only table in the room as students milled about. He tossed a reassuring smile to Harry before sending one to Draco and Marty. Aeryn was right next to him, saying something briefly before she headed in Harry's direction.

  "You can stop hiding, now," she said with a smile.

  Harry laughed low. "I think my courage was hiding, and the rest of me just followed."

  She shook her head in exasperation. "I think you've been listening to Draco complain too long. You're starting to sound like him."

  He raised an eyebrow as they headed back to the front of the room. "Or is it he's acting more like me?"

  Aeryn just looked at him but didn't say anything as Dumbledore raised his hands to gain the students' attention.

  "Welcome to the first class of Dueling lessons. I'd like to remind everyone that this is a required class. However, it won't be graded." He paused as several students whooped in joy. Dumbledore smiled as the noise tapered off as he raised his hand again. "I will let these four explain the rules, and remember that some of the things you learn here will help later on in life."

  Dumbledore stepped back as Aeryn went forward. The other three had decided to let her speak first, even though she had complained about the task.

  "There are only three rules that you need to know and follow.

  "Rule number one: the only time spells are to be used in class are when we are practicing or in an actual duel set up by one of the four of us.

  "Rule number two: use only spells that you are familiar with. If you don't know what the spell does, don't use it.

  "Rule number three: make sure that you stay within the dueling spaces at all times, to help reduce the chance that another student won't get hit by a miscast spell.

  "Any student who does not follow the rules will get detention. The first time it happens it is worth two nights' detention. The second is worth a weeks' detention. The third is worth a month. If you break any of the rules a fourth time, it is up to the board of governors to decide your fate. This class is to help you defend yourself, not to be used in petty school fights. Don't use this class to take revenge on a schoolmate just because they mistreated you."

  Harry had watched the students as Aeryn listed the rules. By the time she was finished, almost all of them had realized how grave this class really was, and how important it would be once school finished in a couple of months. For many of the seventh years, it would be a matter of them surviving the summer or not.

  Harry stepped up. "First we are going to give a demonstration of what we expect you to learn from this class, even if you never reach past a certain level. Once that is finished, you will be evaluated so that you can be divided up into year and ability. Assigned classes will be handed out in the morning. Don't think that just because you are in a different class from somebody you think is better than they really are. This is so that we can see where you need improvement, and that goes for everybody."

  "Even teachers," Marty piped up. The two words startled the teachers as they lined the Great Hall and made the student body laugh at their reaction.

  Draco nodded. "Besides the lessons for the students, the board of governors asked us to give refresher courses to all the teachers. This is in case there is another attack like the one in January by the Dementors."

  By the time he had finished speaking, the Great Hall was silent. Most of the students and teachers were remembering the cold, silent castle that had greeted them that first day back from the winter holiday. It was the day two of their number had gone missing, now back to teach them in this new class.

  Harry nodded to the other three. They had decided that it would work best if they split three against one. He would be fighting the other three for the demonstration. A nod to Dumbledore signaled his readiness for their fight to begin.

  "Tarantulla!" Draco's jelly legs jinx was first, but Harry sidestepped it neatly, throwing one right back at him. The blond man ducked as Marty tossed a fire hex and Aeryn threw three rapid-fire curses at Harry, starting a long and drawn out battle, lasting almost a full hour.

  None of the four realized that their audience had long been on the edge of their seats. Ron sat next to Hermione, flinching every time he saw something head towards his best friend, and sighing in relief when he saw Harry counter it or get missed completely. Finally it was down to just Harry and Aeryn, Marty having been taken out by a misthrown curse of Draco's, and Draco not reacting quickly enough to a confounding charm that bounced off a shield of Harry's.

  Ron winced as he saw that Harry had thrown a boil hex at Aeryn, remembering getting hit by it in fifth year when Neville didn't aim right at the dummies set up for that purpose.

  "The Redux shield," Hermione whispered next to him when the hex didn't reach its target.

  He turned to his friend. "What?"

  Hermione looked at him. "She's been using the shield charm just as much as Harry. That's why she's still up there. But both of them are getting tired from using it so much."

  Ron looked up again at the two left fighting and found that she was right. Harry and Aeryn were quickly becoming exhausted. The two of them were down to using some of the more basic curses and hexes - most of what they had learned in first and second year. Earlier all four of them had been using complex curses, mostly used by Aurors and Death Eaters. In fact, the curse that had knocked out Marty was one that had recently been discovered by the Ministry – it being a powerful pain curse. It was much like the Cruciatus curse, but it hadn't been declared illegal by the Ministry – at least not yet.

  Harry and Aeryn shot the same curse at the same time, which met in the center of the demonstration circle and exploded in a series of sparks. Both nodded to each other and tucked away their wands.

  Ron watched as Harry wiped the sweat off his brow as he turned towards the students and teachers, who had remained silent.

  "The four of us," he nodded at the other three as Aeryn revived Draco and Marty, "wanted to give you a good idea of what could happen out there." Harry pointed out one of the windows of the Great Hall. "Sometimes it might be a little more even, but chances are you will never meet up with someone with the same skill as you. Your opponent might be better, or may be worse. We just want to give you the opportunity to make sure that you can handle the situation if it comes up."

  Dumbledore clapped his hands a couple of times while nodding. Walking to the center of the circle, he looked out over the Great Hall. "I would like to encourage all of you to do your best in these classes. Times have grown darker in the past year, and while I hope that none of you will ever get to the point where you will need this information, it is better for all of you to learn how to defend yourself.

  "The board of governors are the ones that put down the rules, and I would like to repeat that this class is not to be used to get revenge on a classmate that you think has done you wrong. Please make sure that you come prepared to your appointed class. New timetables will be handed out in the morning." Dumbledore dismissed the students and turned to the four that stood behind him. "Thank you for the demonstration," he said quietly as noise returned to the hall.

  Harry smiled tiredly and shook his head, as he watched the students leave the Great Hall two hours later. "No problem. Although I think we're all going to sleep hard tonight."

  Marty laughed as Draco mock-pouted. "Some of us more than others," she stared pointedly at Harry and Aeryn. "Since some of us won't be moaning over our mistakes."

  Dumbledore chuckled as well. "There is a trick to that," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Turn it around so that it did go right and your opponent was in the wrong."

  Harry frowned as Aeryn snorted. "No advice for us?"

  The headmaster gave them a steady look. "Work harder."

  Marty and Draco laughed as the other two's faces grew dark.

  "Looks like you won't be sleeping as good as you thought," the blond man joked.

  A scowl formed on Harry's face before it lightened into a smile. "Ok, Mister-I-Don't-Know-What-Hit-Me."

  Dumbledore shook his head, exasperated, as the four young people continued to banter even as he left them alone in the Great Hall.

******

  "Wow!"

  Seamus' exclamation rang through the Gryffindor common room, still filled with most of the house. Several younger students nodded their heads in agreement, even as Ginny and Dean, as prefects, herded them up the stairs to their dorms.

  Soon, only the seventh years were left in the large room. They were seated comfortably around the fireplace as they let everything they had seen in the demonstration digest for a little bit.

  "Wow." Seamus' face was a shocked as his whisper. "I didn't know Harry could do that!"

  Parvati and Lavender just looked at each other as Ron watched the others. Finally he turned to Hermione, who was sitting next to him on one of the long couches.

  "What was that shield you were talking about when they were fighting?"

  Hermione looked startled when she found everybody's attention on her. A faint blush crept across the bridge of her nose before she went into what Ron thought her 'teacher mode.'

  "The Redux shield is one of the most powerful wandless charms a wizard or witch can use to protect themselves from most curses."

  "Wandless?" Neville's question asked what the others were thinking.

  Hermione nodded. "Yes. Wandless."

  "When did Harry get to be so good at wandless magic?" Dean asked.

  "Since fifth year," Ron answered. He hadn't liked the idea that Harry would learn something he would never master, but had realized that it would be for the best. At least, it was better for Harry to know it, especially if he had to go up against Voldemort when they had brother wands. "Most of the teachers have been teaching Harry wandless magic, since his wand and You-Know-Who's wands are brothers."

  There was a look of astonishment on the other seventh years' faces, and it grew as Hermione continued with their original topic.

  "The Redux shield was invented by Albus Dumbledore in the war against Grindelwald. It is primarily a combination of a number of counter-curses, mixed with the person's own energy. That is why both of them tired quickly after using it. Only about 1 person in a thousand can produce the shield."

  Ron looked at her. "So, would that mean that Aeryn is as powerful as Harry?"

  Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "Ron, all four of them used the shield during their duel. All four of them are as powerful as Professor Dumbledore."

  "Whoa..." Neville's voice broke the silence.

  Parvati made an odd sound and the others looked at her to find her trying to hold back laughter. "Yes, but can he dance?"

  All of them broke out into laughter, each remembering Harry's poor attempts at dancing. Ron hoped that was still the same, because he really didn't want to see everything was changed about Harry. It wasn't very Gryffindor of him, but he was scared that he would lose his friend just because of what had happened. He may have been jealous (and definitely mad at him sometimes) for having everything good about magic swirl around him, but he had also always been afraid that Harry would die.

  It all came down to the fact that he didn't want to lose his friend. Seven years had bonded them closer than he was to his brothers. They *were* brothers. And Ron was determined that *that* fact wouldn't change.

******

  "Ready?"

  Draco glared at Harry. "Since when did you vote yourself leader of our little group?"

  Harry smirked at him. "Since I kicked your butt earlier tonight."

  A chuckle erupted next to Draco, and he turned and glared at Marty. "See if I talk to you anymore!"

  She just laughed a little more and winked suggestively at him. "You sure?"

  Harry was the one to laugh this time as the blond man's cheek grew pink. He watched the two in front of him for a moment before noticing that Aeryn was next to him.

  "Aeryn?"

  "Coming!" Her voice came out from behind the door to the potions lab, half muffled by the almost closed door. "I wanted to make sure that this stuff wouldn't blow up," she continued saying as she entered the room. "I don't really want a replay of the other day. That stuff's awful to try to get out of your hair."

  Draco smirked. "Must be why Snape's hair is so greasy."

  Harry stifled his laughter when he found Aeryn didn't think it was funny. "What?" he asked her.

  Aeryn didn't answer, but sent a glare at Draco. "And your hair wouldn't be like that if you spent all day around potions fumes? If the man would actually use a different potion...."

  The other three hid their choked laughs as they turned. All four of them had decided this would be a good time to do some exploring, since most of the students wouldn't think of leaving their dorms on a Sunday night. Only a few, besides the prefects who were on duty, would be roaming the hallways and weren't enough to really be bothered with.

  "Are you coming or not?" Aeryn asked from the other side of the door.

  Harry looked up and smirked. "Our new leader!"

  Aeryn glared at him and shifted before taking off down the hallway.

  Draco looked at Marty. "That's our cue."

  She nodded before shifting and following the other woman, Draco and Harry right behind her.


	19. Mischief Managed

******

Chapter 19

Mischief Managed

Disclaimer: Much as it pains me to admit, I don't own anything that came from JK Rowling's pen. If it isn't in her books, it's mine!!!!! All mine!!!!!! Muahahahahaha *cough cough* Ack! Stupid evil scientific genius laugh... ::mutters about taking said laugh back to the evil genius store where it was bought::

AN: I'm back! Woo hoo! Thanks to a horrific bout of writer's block, as well as being very sick, I couldn't get anywhere on this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it was worth the wait. The next chapter will not be out anytime soon, as my sister found a plot hole (and a pretty big one). So, it will take a while for me to fix it, seeing as how it's very difficult to write this story. As soon as I get a good line going, I lose it by the time I sit at the computer. Or I get interrupted at work by a customer, which is where I write most of this story. ^_^

Thanks to everyone that's reviewed!

******

  Snape looked over the students as they entered the Great Hall the morning after the Dueling demonstration. He had found himself placated by the spectacle of watching the other professors go through the same process that he had the previous morning. Most of the instructors were far worse than many of the older students, and for the first time he had heard of the class he was glad that everybody would need it. It was one thing to know and to teach, but it was a completely different thing to do.

  Now he was waiting for Aeryn to finish her meal so that he could speak to her. He was hoping to set up a time when they could work on the Silmaron potion again. In spite of the awful fact that she was as chipper as a hummingbird on sugar water, her brain worked well enough. He wouldn't admit that to anyone, and had had a hard enough time getting himself to acknowledge that fact.

  Finally she stood, pushing her chair away from the table to go stand next to Snape. "You ready?" she asked, one of her hands hiding a yawn.

  He arched one eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. It wasn't his business, and he had the feeling that even one word would launch her into... whatever....

  The two of them made their way to the special potions room and crossed over to where the potion they had previously made was set. The color had changed slightly from the bright red it had been when it was hot to a kind of puce color now that it was cool. He had been hoping that it would stay the same color once it was no longer being heated, but something wasn't quite right.

  "When did the color change?" he asked the woman beside him.

  "About five. It changed between 4:30 and then." She tossed him an inquiring look. "What do you think it could be?"

  Snape frowned. There were three ingredients that could have done this, as well as two timings that may have been off. Finding out exactly what the problem was for that, as well as why the potion kept opening up portals in different spots, would take a lot time than he had counted on.

  "Tonight," he started to say.

  Aeryn looked at him. "To work on the timing?"

  He gave her an odd look and wondered if she could read minds. Instead, he nodded in agreement. "Yes, if we wait until this evening, I may have been able to work on what should have or haven't been added."

  "Mm." A noncommittal answer such as he would expect from Dumbledore. "Then how about I see what ingredient may have been the problem. I don't have a class until just before lunch, and I know you've got one in fifteen minutes."

  The eyebrow lifted again. "Studying my schedule?"

  Aeryn smirked. "And I'm sure you haven't looked at mine to know when to avoid passing me in the halls?"

  She had got him there. He had done the same thing for Potter.

  "Besides," she went on to say, "this way we could figure out when we would be able to work on the potion. Other than that, you can not see me the rest of the day except at meals."

  Snape gave her another odd look, this time tinged with a little admiration. The woman thought a lot like a Slytherin. It made working with her a little better than before. Nodding, he left her working on the potion and headed to his classroom.

  His first class was the seventh years' combined class, and while he missed having Draco in the class he was glad that he and Potter weren't sniping at each other anymore in his presence. Frankly, that could be tiring just listening to it without having to break it up.

  Readying himself for his class, Snape took a moment to think about the problems they were having with the Silmaron potion. He knew that Dumbledore was counting on using that potion to move to wherever Voldemort was without having to resort to portkeys. Portkeys were notoriously difficult to make and were expensive if you bought them to modify. If he could find the problem with the timing, they would be able to test the potion tonight, and while it would please him, Dumbledore would be able to start the plans they had come up with.

******

  Harry held back a snicker as he watched Aeryn and Snape bickering at each other. He knew they had been working for at least two hours before he and Draco had come to see what they were up to. It obviously was a bad time to interfere, so the two of them slipped out of the room and headed over to their library. It would be worth the extra effort to look for the answer they were searching for, rather than interrupting the two volatle potions brewers.

  An hour later, he and Draco were discussing what they had found when Harry felt eyes on him. Looking over to his right, he found Circe sitting still as a statue, the kneazle's large eyes focused on him. Harry stared back at it for a brief moment before turning to look at Draco.

  "What?" the blond asked.

  Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Why do you think Circe's behaving like that?"

  Draco laughed. "She's Aeryn's familiar. Who knows why she's doing this."

  Frowning a little bit, Harry looked back at the cat-like creature. He reached out to pet her, knowing just the right spot to rub, when Circe leapt gracefully off the table, just out of Harry's reach.

  "Come back here," he muttered under his breath at the kneazel.

  The smoky-colored animal just gave him a look before wandering off towards the door, completely ignoring her bickering witch as she passed through the open door into the main hallway of the wing.

  Harry sent a glance back at Draco, who was laughing to himself, nose buried deep in one of the 'Mad Martin the Muggle' comics that Ron had been so fond of in first year.

  Well, he wasn't going to get any help from that quarter, and definitely not from Aeryn, who seemed to enjoy baiting Snape as much as Sirius did. It wasn't like he had to have company on an adventure, but from having Ron and Hermione with him for the first six years he'd spent at Hogwarts he knew that it made it better with companionship. Still, Circe looked like she didn't want to wait to lead Harry to wherever with a stop for his friends, who were currently in class with McGonagall.

  Five minutes later, Harry found himself down a corridor only covered in one of his nighttime jaunts. He and Marty had been down this particular hallway, and they hadn't seen anything he would think would spark the interest of a kneazel. Of course, this was the creature that seemed to share Dumbledore's obsession with lemon drops, to the curious amazement of the rest of those the kneazel let near her. Circe stopped in front of a door that Harry could have sworn was open last night, pawing at it before giving a soft mew. As soon as he got to the door, the kneazel jumped to his shoulder, wrapping around his neck, her front paws protectively around his neck. Shaking his head in exasperation, he grabbed the door handle, and pulled his hand away quickly. Tempted to stick his burning fingers in his mouth to cool them, instead he pulled out his wand. Putting up a hasty shield, he blasted the door open.

  Draco hid his smirk until he was sure that Aeryn and Snape had left. There was something just so hilarious about watching those two that had him in stitches. Only Marty shared the joke with him, Harry usually defending Aeryn against anything that Draco had to say regarding the situation. That was what he liked about Marty. Well, one of the things. She seemed to share his sense of jumor, and she found talking about Quidditch just as boring as much as he did. While he loved the game, his father had been the only reason why Draco had gotten onto the team his second year in the first place.

  The other pair of their quartest had paired off early in ther confinement, already having been working together. He knew that there was nothing beyond friendship between Harry and Aeryn, but they were as close as The Boy Who Lived had been with Weasley and Granger. So that had left Draco and Marty just a little bit alone at first. Then, as the training got more intense, he had come to rely on Marty as being the sensible one in the group. More often than not, she was the voice of reason when it came to things like taking a break. Once he had realized that, Draco found that he liked spending time with Marty when the other pair were deep into all things Quidditch.

  When they had come out into the 'real world,' Draco had discovered that he felt far more comfortable around Marty than even Zabini. The other Slytherin boy in his dorm had been the keeper of Draco's sanity more often than not over the last year or so. Now he felt ages older than Blaise, a fact that had startled him. Then Blaise had brought up the fact that Marty often hovered whenever anybody was around.

  Now that they had, more or less, settled into a pattern, Draco hadn't seen as much of Marty as all four of them had different tasks to accomplish. But, if Draco really needed to talk to her, he could usually find Marty in the hospital wing helping Madame Pomfrey.

  While they had been so industriously studying in that room, each of them had discovered a new talent. Draco had been surprised when he learned that he was quite able to manipulate latent magicks. He was even more surprised when they found that Draco could use this ability to help Marty with her talent of using healing magicks. At first, Draco had resented Harry and Aeryn's use of the more 'offensive magics,' as Draco liked to call it. They were able to take active magics and throw them back, or in Harry's case, to use it to magnify his own. Then Marty had shown him just how he could use the latent magic in enchanted objects to change them, and in doing so, use none of his own energy.

  He had been the first to uncover his hidden talent, and it had only been after the first 'year' they had spent together that anyone had noticed Draco had been using the magics of the books they had been studying. The book had clued Marty in, seeing as it had been a book written by Salazar Slytherin, and Draco was his chosen champion, as Helga had termed it.

  After that, all four of them had stopped the 'book learning' for a couple of months. And from that point on there had been a connection. Now, sitting next to Marty, he began to appreciate her all over again as she smiled at him, a shy movement of lips. Draco smiled back at her before shuffling just a little closer, and picked up his comic once more.

******

  Snape swore the damned mutt was grinning.

  He knew he should have just left well enough alone when he saw Potter running by with an oddly-colored orb floating behind him. Actually, he first should have stopped talking to Negre. Not that their conversation... well, argument... hadn't been without its merits. Snape didn't want to admit, even to himself, that the woman was actually starting to grow on him. Instead, he would rather subject himself to the Cruciatus curse than say something like he was acting most un-Slytherin like.

  Now he was stuck in the headmaster's office as 'The Gryffindor Contingent' celebrated the key to Black's freedom.

  It was also the chance the Order had been waiting for. The obvious hole in the school's wards that had allowed the rat through them – as well as the 'return' of Peter Pettigrew back from the dead – would get the Ministry to finally take some real action, not any of the paltry amount of protection they had set up when The Four returned. Or disappeared. It had certainly taken them long enough for them to do something. And then, when The Four had offered to up the amount of protection offered by the wards, the Board of Governors had reverted to their conservative methods and refused to let them do so.

  Even though Mundungus Fletched had been appointed as interim Minister until such a time they could hold an election, he and the rest of the Order members from the Ministry had still been in the minority. With the rat as evidence that Voldemort had indeed returned – more than two years ago instead of the two months the 'Ministry' had said he had – it would be a bittersweet victory. Many of the Ministry members had dismissed the fall of Azkaban as a group of Death Eaters trying to make people believe their Master had returned when it was obvious that no such thing had happened. It was just a plot to 'terrify all of wizarding Britain.'

  Snape, as well as the rest of the Order, had been a lot more than a little peeved when the Ministry had discounted the evidence that he had gathered from his work as a spy. It wasn't just a walk in the park to stand among Voldemort's followers, just knowing that you could be exposed as a 'traitor' to their group at any time.

  Looking at those in this office, he figured he would mentally work on the new batch of Veritaserum both Albus and the Ministry were probably going to want, instead of going over his thoughts on the Ministry. He was almost to the point where the four grams of basilisk scales needed to be added when he felt eyes on him. Looking up, Snape found four sets of eyes on him. Sending a sneer at the mutt, he raised an eyebrow, letting Dumbledore discern his question, knowing that the old man knew what he was trying to ask.

  Dumbledore nodded in answer.

  Standing up, Snape bared his teeth at Black before leaving the room. For this, he didn't require the presence of Dumbledore's little potions princess. It was only for Dumbledore.

******

I know this is a little shorter than the previous chapters, but I wanted to get this out. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed!!!!!


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